


You Played Soldier, I Played King

by gunslingaaahhh



Series: Little!Steve [1]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: AU, Brain Injury, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Rehabilitation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-29
Updated: 2013-02-21
Packaged: 2017-11-19 19:49:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 26,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/576994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gunslingaaahhh/pseuds/gunslingaaahhh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU after 2x20.</p><p>Steve goes off to Japan on a secret mission, with only a "Dear Danno" letter in his wake. Danny is left to pick up the pieces when Steve doesn't come back in the same condition he left.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_”Oh, god, Steve… so tight, I can’t—“ Danny choked out, lowering his head to Steve’s shoulder, panting harshly against the other man’s skin._

_“So close, Danno, so close,” Steve gasped from beneath him, arching and wrapping his legs tighter around Danny’s hips. They rocked against each other for a few more minutes before Steve’s entire body tensed up, his eyes screwing shut as his jaw clenched. Danny felt the hot, wet gush against his belly as he continued to rock in and out of Steve, bottom lip clamped between his teeth at the increased friction. He didn’t last much longer, groaning against Steve’s shoulder as he came._

_The only sounds then were harsh breathing, the slip-slide of sweat slicked bodies, and Steve’s breathy gasps as Danny used his mouth to clean up the mess he’d made of Steve’s ass. Afterward, they lay together, Steve curled around Danny’s side, idly trailing his fingers through the hair on Danny’s chest._

_“This was such a good idea,” he remarked sleepily, tugging the sheet up tighter around them._

_“Which idea might that be?” Danny asked, cracking an eye open._

_“The one where I asked you to move in and you actually said yes.”_

_Danny huffed, twisting a bit so he and Steve were facing each other. “You’re only so enamored with the idea because you can get laid more often.”_

_“Well, yeah,” Steve grinned, giggling when one of Danny’s hands came up to tickle the crease of his neck._

_They stared at each other for a moment or two before Danny scooted forward and pressed a sweet, soft kiss to Steve’s lips. “G’night,” he murmured, burrowing down into the pillows._

_“Yeah,” Steve replied with a yawn. “Love you.”_

~*~

“I’m gonna kill him… if he isn’t dead already, I am going to fucking kill him,” Danny muttered to himself as he bobbed and weaved his way through traffic. It’d been almost a month since Steve had – seemingly randomly in Danny’s eyes – left a ‘Dear Danno’ letter on his desk. A month of unanswered phone calls, voice mails, and unanswered texts. Danny had been worrying himself sick, various scenarios flying through his mind at night as he tried to sleep in Steve’s – their – bed.

And now this, after almost a month of complete nothingness, this phone-call from the hospital saying that a Lieutenant Commander Steven J McGarrett was being transferred from a hospital in Osaka, _Osaka_ , and could he please come as soon as possible. Grinding his teeth, Danny pushed the gas pedal a little closer to the floor, lights and sirens bleating around him.

If Steve wasn’t dead already, Danny was going to kill him.

~*~

Picking up and moving on with cases and the like was strange without their leader, but they made due. Danny hated being “the boss,” despite his apparent knack for leadership. He considered Chin and Kono his peers, his equals, regardless of what all of their titles said. Having to step up and order them around made him feel awkward and out of place, even though the cousins did whatever he needed them to do, no questions asked.

Really, as brash as Danny seemed, he much preferred dual leadership to standing at the top of the pyramid. Without Steve, Danny was forced to send one of his teammates off alone, or leave someone behind at HQ so a pair could check out a lead or follow up on a suspect. It never crossed his mind that Steve wouldn’t be back, that they might need to consider hiring a fourth member to pick up the slack.

Kono and Chin were very sympathetic about the whole thing, though Danny knew they were itching to know more. He’d told them what the letter had said, verbatim, which was exactly the problem: Steve had never been all that wordy when he was speaking, it came as no shock to anyone that his letter just barely made a whole page. He stated simply what his intentions were, but not where he was going, or whether or not he would reach out to them. Danny had done his best to hide the hurt this had caused him, but he knew the cousins noticed.

It hurt that Steve thought a simple one-page explanation was enough, and it made Danny angry that he hadn’t seen the signs that Steve was preparing to abandon them for his Shelburne mission. They slept in the same bed, showered together, did everything together, and yet Steve had acted like nothing was out of place, like everything was as it had always been.

Yeah, it hurt to know that Steve apparently didn’t think enough of Danny to even leave him a private letter, somewhere in the house where Danny would find it. It hurt a lot.

~*~

He entered the emergency room just shy of a run, flashing his badge and looking for whoever had called him. A young nurse, her pretty features creased with worry, hurried up to him and grabbed his arm.

“Detective Williams? Commander McGarrett arrived about ten minutes ago, we’re moving him up to Intensive Care right now.”

“Intensive Care? What’s wrong with him?” Danny barked, hurrying along beside the nurse as they made their way onto an elevator.

Frowning and squeezing herself into the corner, the nurse looked at her feet. Danny sighed, smoothing his hair and taking a few deep breathes. “Look, I’m sorry, ok? But you gotta understand: this is the first time I’ve heard hide or hair of him in _weeks_ , and you’re telling me he’s in ICU? It’s a bit much.”

“The doctors will be assessing him as soon as he arrives in the ICU; preliminary observations show severe head trauma, cuts, scrapes, and bruises. Until he can have a CAT scan and an MRI, we won’t know much else.”

Sourness swelled in Danny’s stomach, and he did all he could to keep himself from puking as they hurried down the hall after exiting the elevator. Glancing to the left and right, he caught glimpses of severely injured people, each one worse than the last. Biting his tongue, he hoped Steve wasn’t down so far he couldn’t get back up again.

Coming around a corner, the nurse directed Danny to a waiting area, as there was still a team of doctors and nurses trying to sort Steve out. He barely heard her, as all of Danny’s attention was currently focused on the older man sitting with his head bowed, not ten feet from where Danny stood.

“Joe.”

The man lifted his head, and Danny couldn’t help the sharp intake of breath; someone had gotten their hands on Joe, it seemed, and had given him a decent pounding. One of his eyes was almost entirely swollen shut, and one hand was splinted and wrapped. The way he sat, Danny was pretty sure there were some cracked ribs hiding beneath his shirt.

“Detective.”

“What. The hell. Happened.” Danny’s hands were balled into fists at his sides, every muscle in his body tensed and ready for a fight. Rage was swelling within him, because the reason for Steve’s current condition? Was this man, sitting with his back slouched and a frown creasing his face.

“There’s a lot I can’t tell you, son, but I will tell you this: Steve was coming to look for me, yeah, but he wasn’t the only one. The Yakuza got wind of the fact that I was in town, and while they weren’t happy with me, they were pretty much livid with Steve.”

“He got jumped by the Yakuza?”

“Him and me both. I’m old, I’m not as fast or as strong as I used to be; Steve knew that, so he tried to keep their attention focused on himself. I don’t… I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone get beaten so badly. I’m sorry, Danny.”

“Sorry… oh, yeah, you better fucking be _sorry_ , because if he doesn’t survive this—“

“There’s no way to know, yet; he was unconscious to begin with, but now he’s in a medically induced coma. They had to.”

The wind was knocked out of Danny then, he felt himself deflate as he flopped down into a chair next to Joe. Medically induced coma… that was never good. Rubbing his eyes, Danny remained silent when Joe attempted to converse with him, finally falling quiet himself. Until someone came to get him so he could see Steve, there was nothing for Danny to say.

~*~

“Wait, so what exactly is wrong with him?” Kono asked, hands on her hips. Danny sighed, rubbing at his forehead. It’d been a few hours before the team of doctors had gotten Steve stabilized and settled in, and after he’d been allowed into the room, he’d had to step right back out again, it was that bad.

“Swelling in his brain, broken right leg, broken right hand, fractured ribs, broken nose… and that’s just what they can tell superficially. Until they can get a hold on the swelling in his skull, they’re gonna hold off on x-rays and all of that sort of thing. Could be more damage inside, though they don’t think so, not like internal bleeding or anything.”

“I can’t even believe this… it’s like they barely touched Joe… does that mesh with what he told you?” Chin asked, arms crossed over his chest. “Them being jumped and Steve sort of protecting him?”

“More or less… I’m guessing part of Steve’s reasoning had to do with Shelburne, and what Joe knows, and the rest was the fact that Joe is like a second father. Though in my opinion, neither constitutes allowing a gang of crazy people to beat the shit out of me instead of him.”

“Danny, c’mon, allowed? I doubt the boss _allowed_ anyone to do anything,” Kono argued. “They probably outnumbered them. SEAL or no, one man against a group? Odds are against you from the start.”

“So, what’s our next step then? Do we try to see if we have any contacts in Osaka that can tell us the who or why? It’s your call, Danny.”

Danny regarded Chin and then Kono, feeling like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. Sighing, he shook his head. “Why bother? I mean, I want payback as much as the next guy, but let’s be realistic here: is there any real chance justice can be served? This is an organized crime unit, they’ll make it seem like it never happened. I’d rather focus on making sure Steve gets the care he needs and that the fucking _Navy_ he loves so much pays for every dime of that care.”

The cousins each wrapped Danny in a hug before promising to go back to HQ to follow up on current cases and paperwork. Danny tells them not to work too hard before slipping back into Steve’s room.

The man laying in the bed does not at all mesh with the image in Danny’s minds’ eye. His Steve is vivacious, strong, in constant motion. This Steve lays motionless, surrounded by machines and monitors, all sorts of lines and IVs plugged in to him. He’s on a respirator because he isn’t able to breath for himself yet, there’s a tube down his throat providing him with nutrition; Danny’s pretty sure there are catheters and bags plugged in to his nether regions, as well. It’s a sad sight, a _pitiful_ sight, and it only makes Danny angrier.

“This never should’ve happened,” he mutters as he takes a seat beside Steve’s bed. “It never _would’ve_ happened if you’d just _talked_ to me, let me in on what was going on with you. We’re partners, we’re a _team_ , you know we would’ve helped you in whatever way we could. No offense, babe, but Joe White? Totally not worth all this aggravation. The man barely suffered a black eye, he got off pretty easy in comparison. I don’t even know where he is now, and to tell you the truth, I don’t care. If I never see Joe White again, it’ll be too soon.”

Knowing Steve can’t hear him doesn’t stem the flow of words; it’s more for Danny’s benefit, anyway, a sort of catharsis for all the mental anguish Steve’s absence has caused him. They hadn’t been living together very long when Steve left, and now in face of what could be life-altering injuries, Danny is left to wonder if he should mourn “what might have been.”

~*~

As Steve’s body slowly begins to heal, the doctors discuss waking him from his coma. His bones are beginning to knit back together, and the swelling in his brain has receded. The doctors remind Danny that the likelihood that Steve has some sort of brain damage is probably high, though they won’t know anything until he wakes up and they can assess him cognitively.

The Navy sends a correspondent bi-weekly to check in on Steve’s progress, and Danny resists the urge to punch the smarmy kid in the face. Because that’s what he is, for all intents and purposes: a kid, barely out of his teens, green as grass. He talks nonsense and jargon about Steve’s pension, and a trust that had been set up for him by McGarrett Sr and Joe White when they’d learned of Steve’s intentions. Danny tells the kid, as politely as he can, that he won’t be making any arrangements on Steve’s behalf until he knows precisely what sort of care he will need. He does, however, tell the kid he expects the Navy to pay for everything, and if they have a problem with that, they can kindly consult Steve’s resume.

The governor grants Danny a sort of leave, allowing him to do half days at HQ and spend the rest with Steve. Kono and Chin assist HPD when and where they can, but with half the team out of commission, they aren’t assigned any big cases.

For Danny, the only real break from the tedium and despondency are the phone calls and weekends with Grace. She asks almost constantly when she can come to the hospital to see her Uncle Steve, and Danny has to tell her, time and again, that she can see him when he’s better.

“But _when_ will he be better?” she asks. “He’s been there forever.”

“I don’t know Monkey. The doctors had to keep him asleep, but I think soon they’re gonna start waking him up. It’ll take a little bit, but I think after he’s awake and he’s had a chance to sort of regroup, maybe I can bring you up to visit.”

Grace accepts this, though she doesn’t like it. Danny can’t blame her, he doesn’t like it either.

~*~

“Detective Williams? Detective Williams!”

Groaning, Danny flapped a hand in the general direction of the voice and tries to burrow back down into sleep. The source of the voice gives an exasperated huff before poking Danny in the shoulder – hard – and shouting in his ear.

“Detective Williams, Commander McGarrett is awake, now do you want to see him or not!”

Yelping, Danny found himself falling to the floor in a heap, tangled in a scratchy, thin blanket. Disoriented, he blinked up at the source of the voice – a matronly nurse – and glanced around. Yes, he’d gone to take a nap in the nurses’ quarters, because he’d been in danger of falling out of his chair.

“Awake, did you say _awake?_ ” Danny asked, hurrying to disentangle himself from the blanket. “I thought the doctor said it would take a few hours.”

“It has _been_ a few hours,” the nurse replied, already making her way to the door. “Now hurry up, before the team swoops in to poke and prod him.”

Scrambling, Danny finally finds his feet and hurries after the nurse, hands clenching and unclenching nervously. He has no idea what sort of state Steve will be in, or whether the other man is even aware of what happened.

Halting just outside the door to Steve’s room, the nurse held up a hand. “Now listen: I know you’ve been waiting for this moment with baited breath, but the man just woke up from being in a coma for weeks at a time. He’s going to be disoriented, confused, he might not recognize you. Keep your voice quiet, try to exude an air of calm.”

Danny nodded, focused solely on getting into the room. He slowly pushed the door open, peering around it to glance at the bed. Steve was, in fact, awake, but looking no better for it. His skin had the ashy pallor of one who hasn’t seen natural sunlight in a while, his face was a variety of colors thanks in part to healing bruises, and his right limbs were still mostly encased in casts. His left foot twitched beneath the blanket periodically, but Danny didn’t pay much attention to that, focusing instead on making sure Steve could see him from where he was propped up in the bed.

“Hey babe,” he called, moving slowly and quietly across the room, taking the chair beside the bed. “It’s so good to see you with your eyes open.”

Steve doesn’t reply, just continues to stare vacantly at the space in front of him. Danny leans forward and notes that Steve’s pupils are dilated fairly large, even though the room is brightly lit. Unsure of how to proceed, Danny starts talking, recounting everything that had been going on while Steve was unconscious.

After a point, Steve slowly turns his head in Danny’s direction, like he was following the sound of the other man’s voice. Danny keeps talking, trying to keep the volume in check, though it’s hard with his excitement. Eventually, Steve’s team of doctors, nurses, and specialists come storming in and usher Danny out. They tell him that, now that Steve is awake, they can do a few full-brain scans and see where the damage is, and what areas it may be affecting. They ask if Steve has spoken, or acknowledged Danny’s presence, and he tells them no. They nod, make notes, and shut the door in Danny’s face. Grumbling, he takes that as his cue to go, and decides that perhaps he’d be better served by a night spent at home, in a real bed.

~*~

The doctors conducted scan after scan, and administered all sorts of tests in attempts to see where and how Steve was damaged. Even after he was able to acknowledge the presence of other people in his room, he made no moves to speak. One doctor suggested that perhaps the trauma had caused aphasia, though another mentioned that the part of the brain that deals with speech had been damaged, and therefore some work would need to be done to see if he could regain the ability.

Physical and occupational therapists are brought into assess Steve’s body; though the breaks in his right limbs have healed, it seems he has more trouble moving and controlling the left limbs. It is noted that the right side of the brain did have a lot of swelling, and the right side controls the left side of the body. The coordination required to feed himself is lacking, as are various other motor functions. A specialist notes that with some rehab, those things can be brought back. Another specialist comments that he hopes that is the case, as there is just something not right about having to spoon-feed and then change the diaper of a thirty-five year old man.

Danny is asked by the Navy to pick a rehab facility, which they will pay for. The one he decides on will be able to assist Steve in regaining his faculties, and allow him to eventually return to Danny and the team.

There is no doubt in Danny’s mind that Steve will eventually come back to himself, though the doctors try to explain there is a great chance he won’t.

The governor requests that Danny comes back full time, as Steve is now “on the mend.” Danny grudgingly agrees, because he does have responsibilities beyond Steve. He does, however, request a few whole days off to assist in moving Steve to the rehab, which the governor grants.

Moving Steve is nothing short of a production; he is unable to walk, and so must be pushed in a wheelchair onto a ramp and up into a van. There is a three-inch thick binder filled with reports, diagnoses, and suggestions thrust into Danny’s hands, who is told to hand it over to the head of Steve’s rehabilitation team.

The rehab doesn’t look anything like what Danny had imagined, and for that he is grateful. The grounds are lush and well maintained, the building in tip-top shape. The facility had received rave reviews for their care of military vets and injuries, and Danny wanted the best he could possibly get for Steve.

Standing just outside the main sliding glass doors were a pair of nurses: an impossibly tall man, and a petite woman. The man got Steve and his wheelchair out of the van with enviable ease, smiling and speaking soothingly to Steve all the while. The woman approached Danny, right hand extended.

“Detective Williams! Good morning and welcome! My name is Ana, I’m Commander McGarrett’s occupational therapist.”

“Oh, uh, hi... please, call me Danny.”

Ana smiled warmly, reaching for the binder clutched in Danny’s hands. “Danny it is; please follow me, I have to give you the tour.”

They made their way inside, though instead of following Steve, they turned a corner and went in the opposite direction.

“The gentleman whisking Commander McGarrett away is Josh, and he’ll be working on physical therapy. Now, if you follow me this way, I can show you the gymnasium.” Ana gestured to a hallway encased with windows on either side; to the right was a large, open area with different sections devoted to different equipment. On the left was a swimming pool, as close to Olympic sized as Danny had ever seen.

“Our goal, as I’m sure you know, is to get your friend back on track. Josh will work with him on strengthening his legs and core and re-coordinating the muscles needed for walking. My job deals with upper body and the use of arms and hands for daily tasks, like feeding, teeth brushing, and hygiene.”

“Will he have someone else to help him with talking? Cuz he hasn’t said a word since he woke up,” Danny mentioned nervously.

“Absolutely; he’ll have a speech therapist who will work with him daily. Depending on how things go, he may also have a feeding therapist, but I’m hoping that since he can chew and swallow without problems, all he’ll need is to relearn the feeding motion.”

Ana smiled reassuringly before whisking Danny down another corridor. “Here’s the cafeteria... while this is technically a rehab hospital, the directors and staff try to treat it more like a retreat. There are people here twice the age of your friend, and also ten to fifteen years his junior; it’s just the nature of the game. Sometimes bringing folks together helps more than, say, talking to a therapist. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner occur here, and while we don’t demand attendance, we do try to encourage everyone to come down.”

Danny glanced around the large space, taking note of the various groupings of tables. He was overwhelmed with nostalgia: it was like a super-sized version of his high school cafeteria.

“What if they need assistance eating? Isn’t that kind of... embarrassing? Y’know, to do in front of people?” he asked, gesturing to the tables.

“Not necessarily. Not everyone has the same injuries and needs, but I can tell you a lot of the folks here have had to work hard in occupational therapy to regain the coordination to feed themselves. It isn’t uncommon for aides to be assisting with eating down here.”

Humming to himself, Danny followed the young woman out of the cafeteria and into a large room filled with rows of tables. There were several pairs sitting at the tables, all engaged in some sort of activity. “Here’s where Commander McGarrett will have his OT--”

“Ana, please... if he’s gonna be here as long as I’m thinking he is, just call him Steve. He’d tell you the same thing, if he could.”

Ana smiled again, resting her hand gently on Danny’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, he’ll be talking again before you know it. Now, let’s go check out the PT space.”

~*~

Danny’s knee was aching by the time he was done trailing Ana throughout the large building; it was worth the pain, though, to get a full sense of the place where Steve would be staying for the foreseeable future. Really, though, he wanted to see Steve’s room.

At last, Ana lead him to the residence hall, past closed doors and drawn curtains. Steve’s door was the last one on the left, which Ana assured Danny was a good thing. As he peered in the small window at the top of the door, he saw two large windows which offered a fantastic view of the foliage and sky. It looked peaceful.

When Ana opened the door, though, the peaceful image was broken: Steve was making a horrible noise, some sort of cross between a groan and a scream. His jaw was clenched so tight Danny feared he might crack his teeth.

“The hell is going on here?!” he shouted, arms waving.

Josh, who was in the process of strapping Steve to the large bed in the corner, glanced over his shoulder. “He’s experiencing severe nerve pain; the transfer interfered with his med schedule and so he’s well overdue for his next dosage. Once the drugs are in his system he’ll quiet down.”

True to his word, Josh got Steve strapped down and plugged in his IV, starting a drip. After a few more minutes of anguished noise, Steve quieted down, eyes drooping. Danny blew out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding, then pointed an accusing finger at Ana.

“Nerve pain? No one said anything to me about _nerve pain!_ Where the hell did that come from?” he demanded, hands on hips. Josh frowned, his deep green eyes worried.

“I love it when this happens,” Ana sighed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “Ok, let me do what the charge nurses should’ve done and explain exactly what we’re dealing with here, alright? Due to the damage suffered during the beating, Steve incurred nerve damage on his left side. Have you noticed any ticcing? Or, hmm, maybe twitching?”

Danny felt blood drain from his face. “Twitching? I saw his left foot twitching at the hospital... I didn’t really think about it, though.”

Nodding, Ana glanced at her clipboard. “Right, ok, the twitching is the result of spasming. With the proper therapies, some of those nerves may recover, though there is a good chance Steve won’t regain full use of his left arm or leg. I will tell you that as the nerves begin to repair, the pain will lessen. He may still need the medication, but not nearly as much of it.”

“Uh huh, what else?” Danny asked, moving to stand beside Steve’s bed. “Will he actually be able to come back to himself?”

Ana and Josh exchanged a look. “Well,” Josh began, voice startlingly deep, “that depends on him. The brain is as much of a muscle as anything else; the more he uses it, the stronger it’ll become. I don’t like to think of these people as _losing_ their faculties, so much as... forgetting them. Our job is to remind the nerves of what they’ve forgotten, remind the brain of what it’s supposed to be doing.”

“We also have the less exciting task of being realistic with the families and friends of the people we’re helping,” Ana continued, moving to stand beside Danny next to the bed. “It’s always good to have hope, to be positive, but it’s necessary also to be aware of the facts, which are that not everyone is capable of a full recovery. Steve suffered a lot of damage, and only time will tell how much he can regain.”

Silence fell as the three of them turned their attention to the man in the bed. Steve was asleep, snoring lightly as the IV drip moved the medicine through his system. His bruising had faded, the swelling down to almost nothing; aside from a few shadows around his eyes, he looked fine. Emotion welled up in Danny’s chest, and he took a few deep breaths through his nose; it wouldn’t do for him to start losing it now, not when there was still so much work to be done to help Steve get better.

“Ok, when do we start?” he said, clapping his hands. “What’s first?”

Ana and Josh looked at each other briefly. “He’ll have basic physical and occupational therapy to start,” Josh offered. “He needs to work the muscles in the limbs that were broken, bring them up to speed, as well as the left. Since he wasn’t comatose for very long, he hasn’t experienced any atrophy to speak of, but it’ll still be good to get him working.”

“Doing what, though?” Danny asked, frowning.

“We’ll start small; bending at the elbows and knees, rotating shoulders and hips, pushing against light resistance. The stretches and exercises he’ll be doing initially will seem sort of silly, compared to what he’s accustomed to, but trust me: baby steps are the keys to success here.”

The tall man’s tone was deep and reassuring, and Danny couldn’t help but relax. He didn’t really have a choice; these people knew a heck of a lot more about this sort of thing than he did, so he had to trust them.

~*~

He’d originally wanted to head to HQ, brief Chin and Kono on Steve’s transfer, but the drive back from the rehab hit Danny like a brick wall, and he realized he was exhausted. He did technically have the day off, so he headed home instead, thinking a solid lunch and maybe a nap in front of the TV would help.

Once settled at the house, sandwich and lemonade on the coffee table in front of him, the enormity of what was happening finally hit him. Emotion swelled, and Danny fought to keep it down, to not finally break after bending so far, but it was pointless, it needed to be let out.

The first sounds burst through, a guttural sobbing, and he buried his face in his hands as he keened. All of the information Ana and Josh had given him, as well as everything he’d learned from Steve’s team of doctors bombarded him. Words, sounds, images of charts and bills flew through Danny’s minds’ eye, followed by the site of Steve in the coma, battered and bruised.

“He’s going to get better!” Danny shouted into the empty house, his voice hoarse and clogged with tears. “He’s going to get better and everything will be the same!”

Now if only he could bring himself to actually _believe_ it, he’d be all set.

~*~

Ana had suggested Danny wait a few weeks before coming to visit, to allow Steve to get settled into his new routine, and grudgingly he’d agreed. Three weeks to the day of the transfer, he drove himself to the rehab, front seat loaded up with photo albums and picture frames. He’d heard a murmuring that Steve would need help remembering things about his life, and Danny figured the best way to remind him was visually.

Pausing in the lobby, he looked over his box of pictures, frowning. Photos were all well and good, but in the face of not _remembering_ any of the people or places shown, none of it would be very comforting. Glancing to the side, Danny caught sight of the gift shop, inconspicuously tucked into a corner. Heading inside, he searched the racks for something, anything that might jump out at him.

Along one wall was a large assortment of stuffed animals, some holding signs with things like “Get Well Soon!” printed on them. Wrinkling his nose, Danny bypassed those, looking instead to the toys that were plain. Pausing, he stared intently at one, a powdery blue-gray elephant. It was about a foot and a half tall and full of beans, making it squishy and floppy, the head stuffed with fluff. Something about it spoke to Danny, so he grabbed it before he could think better of it, paying and tossing the elephant into the box of photos. He hoped Steve -- or better yet, the therapists -- wouldn’t laugh at his selection.

When she’d called, Ana had given Danny the abbreviated version of Steve’s therapy schedule, and Danny hoped he’d timed things right. Coming up to Steve’s door, he was relieved to see that he’d done well with the timing, Steve was just finishing OT.

“Can you make a fist for me? Squeeze down on this, hard... harder than that, c’mon!” Ana was saying, her tone upbeat and encouraging. Steve was in his bed, what looked like a small ball clutched in one hand. Ana watched for a moment before wrapping her hand around Steve’s, forcing his hand to close more tightly around the ball. “Like this Steve, see? Squeeze super tight.”

Ana let go, and the ball fell from Steve’s hand. Coming closer, Danny noted that the ball was made of some kind of foam, like a stress ball. It wouldn’t take much to squeeze the ball, but then again Danny had to remind himself that Steve had to work to regain even that much strength.

“We’ll revisit this later, alright? Hey look, you’ve got a visitor!” Ana called, gesturing towards Danny.

Steve slowly turned his head, and Danny’s heart sank a little. His Steve’s eyes had always been bright and alert, sharp with intelligence. The Steve on the bed stared at him vacantly, a little dazedly.

“How we doing today, huh babe?” Danny asked, setting the box down on the small desk beside the bed. “Working hard?”

“He’s getting there,” Ana said, gathering up the stress ball and other assorted items. A lot of them looked like ordinary household junk in Danny’s opinion.

“What’s he ‘sposed to be doing with all of that, exactly?” he asked, skeptical.

Holding up a few of the items, Ana shrugged. “It’s hard to imagine how many little muscles it takes to do such simple tasks, like squeezing a stress ball, or pressing a button. Hell, even holding your arm up over your head for a few seconds; Steve’s nerves have to remember which pathways are open, what muscles need to be doing which jobs. Him gripping something tightly enough so I can’t take it away? The effort if Herculean.”

“Is he even aware... does he even know what he’s doing? Y’know, cognitively?”

“Muscles have memory that far exceed that in our brains,” Ana told him, not going into any more detail. “Our biggest goal is to get him mobile; my job specifically is to get him to a point where he can do remedial tasks independently.”

“That... doesn’t really answer my question,” Danny frowned. “I could care less about him being able to remember how to walk; I want him to be able to communicate. I want him to be able to express himself, to tell me if he’s feeling good, or bad, or if something hurts.”

Ana stopped by the door, Rubbermaid tub of tools under one arm. She regarded Danny quietly for a moment, studying him. It was a heavy gaze, her dark eyes seeming to bore into him.

“Detective Williams,” she began, holding up a hand to stop his protest about her calling him ‘Danny,’ “it’s important to have hope, as I’ve said. It is also, however, important to be realistic. Yes, Steve will regain some cognitive abilities, but he won’t regain them all. The parts of his brain that were the most affected were those that control speech, long term memory, and the understanding and processing of basest emotions. I’m not a brain doctor, but I’ve worked with enough folks in here to know the signs for certain things coming back, and Steve isn’t expressing any of them strongly right now. Should he regain the ability to communicate, you will have to interact with him the way you would a child, because there is a chance he won’t regain enough to process information like an adult.”

She paused, and Danny opened his mouth to protest. Frowning, Ana threw down her Rubbermaid and stormed over. “It takes a lot, a _lot_ to deal with these people once they’ve come through from the other side. Do you have what it takes? Will you be able to love him now the way you loved him before? Because if you can’t, Detective Williams, I suggest you bow out now. This process isn’t for the faint of heart, or the weak and weary.”

Danny did his best goldfish impression, because he just couldn’t find any rebuttal. Ana’s expression was turning stormier by the second, so he gathered his wits.

“We’ve been through hell and back, him, me, and the rest of our team. If I can love him through all of that, I can love him through this.”

“Remember that in the dark of night, when doubt comes creeping up on you,” Ana said before gathering her things and leaving Danny alone with Steve. It was the first time since Steve had awoken that they’d been alone, and Danny wasn’t sure what to do with himself.

Steve didn’t show any sign of having heard or understood any of what had been said, and part of Danny was glad; now wasn’t the time to be fighting. Smiling, he reached into the box and produced the elephant. Steve stared, eyes focusing for the first time since Danny had entered the room.

Curious, Danny “walked” the toy up Steve’s leg, up his shin and over his knee, before having it take the same path back. He did a mental fist-pump when he noticed Steve’s eyes actually tracking the movement. He repeated the motion, this time with little sound effects. On the third walk, Danny looked up and saw Steve watching _him,_ and his breath caught. Holding the breath, he slowly extended his arm, offering the elephant. Steve watched, following the movement before looking back at Danny.

After no move was made to take the toy, Danny tentatively reached out to grasp Steve’s left hand. “Here, babe, I got this for you, can you hold onto it?” he asked, folding Steve’s large hand around one of the elephant’s arms. Not daring to hope, Danny let go, and watched the toy tumble from Steve’s hand into his lap. There was a delayed reaction as Steve looked down a few seconds later.

“That’s ok, he can just sit beside you,” Danny offered, plucking the toy up and setting it beside Steve’s left elbow. Again with a delayed reaction, Steve cranned his neck to look, staring for a long moment at where the elephant sat before returning his gaze to Danny. Danny just smiled, removing a framed photo from the box. “This room is pretty boring looking; I wonder if the people here would let us hang a few pictures?”

Glancing around, Danny mentally hung a few of the pictures, nodding to himself. The room was pretty sparse, just the bed, desk, and dresser adorning it. The emptiness made Danny itch.

“You wanna hang some stuff?” came a rumbling from the door. Danny spun and saw Josh in the doorway, a large yoga ball under one arm. “It’s allowed, you just have to someone of the staff do it.”

Frowning, Danny spread his arms. “I am perfectly capable of hanging a few pictures on my own, thanks.”

“I’m sure you are; are you also capable of paying for any damage incurred should you miss the studs?” Josh asked, moving into the room and tossing the ball into a corner. “Having the staff do it is easier and that way, if they mess up and punch all sorts of holes in the walls, you aren’t responsible.”

“That... is an excellent point.”

Josh smiled and came up alongside the bed. “Hey Steve! Should we show Danny what we’ve been working on?”

Danny wasn’t anticipating a response, and Steve didn’t offer one, just allowed himself to be pushed and pulled until he was laying flat. Josh grasped one of Steve’s legs at the ankle and knee and began to move it, bending the knee towards Steve’s chest and then extending it back. Josh caught Danny watching and grinned.

“He can’t really do any of the stretching or whatever himself yet, so he needs help warming up. Once we’ve done a couple of reps, I’ll have him push against some resistance. He’s doing pretty well on the right side, almost back to normal.”

“And the left?” Danny asked, catching the slight twitching movement out of the corner of his eye.

“That’s the side with the nerve damage, so it’s considerably weaker. Each side does the same amount of reps, the right just has to work harder; sometimes I’ll put an ankle weight on him, or more resistance. How strong the left leg becomes will ultimately determine whether or not he’ll be able to walk normally in the future.”

“As opposed to what, a wheelchair?” Danny’s mind buzzed with the possibility of having to add ramps to the house, of widening the doorways, of roll-in showers.

“He has a wheelchair now, so we can move him to the various parts of the building. No, I mean like a walker, a cane, some sort of brace. The right leg will have enough strength in the beginning to hold him up, but it can’t do all the work. Steve’s what, mid-thirties? Putting the extra strain on the other leg will just speed up the possibility of problems later. All the work we do now to build up the left side is to attempt to even him out.” Josh continued to bend and pull Steve’s leg, the muscles bunching and flexing as they worked.

Danny watched, memorizing the movements for when he’d undoubtedly be helping to do them later. “He won’t be fifty-fifty though, right? I’m picturing a limp or something.”

“Oh, he’ll definitely have a limp; if the leg gets tired, and as he ages it’ll become more pronounced. But you’re right, he won’t be fifty-fifty; honestly? I’d love to get him to sixty-forty and maybe have a brace on the left for added support.”

“A brace isn’t so bad... if he’s got pants on, it won’t be noticeable, and if it helps him get around, I can’t complain,” Danny remarked, stepping out of the way to allow Josh to work on the opposite side.

Josh continued with the left leg, adding more resistance and a few extra reps before moving the bed to an upright position and swinging Steve’s legs over. Curious, Danny watched as the tall man rolled the yoga ball over, positioning it right in front of Steve.

“Danny, do me a favor and keep this ball from moving, ok?” Josh called, moving to grasp Steve at the elbows. Danny steadied the ball, and watched as Josh did what looked like a sort of ballroom dance move, hoisting Steve into a standing position and twirling them until Steve was in the right position to sit on the ball.

“You make that look so _easy_ , moving him like that; must be nice to be what, seven-foot-seven?” Danny joked, holding onto the ball while Josh kept Steve upright.

“Six-foot-six, actually, but close enough. And really, it’s all about proper body mechanics. I’ve had to move guys twice Steve’s weight and nowhere near his height. Those were awful, but Steve’s not far behind me height-wise, so the center of gravity isn’t as wonky.”

“What’s this doing for him?”

Josh moved to hold Steve from the front, firmly grasping at his biceps. “Works the core; your abs and lumbar do most of the work to hold you up when you sit without support. Because of the damage to the left side, the obliques and other muscles don’t have as much strength, so if you notice, he tends to list to the left.” Letting go, Josh moved away just enough for Danny to see Steve begin to tilt to the left before grabbing him.

“These exercise balls are great for this; he’s working to balance and hold himself up. Eventually he’ll be doing this on his own, with me just standing by to help.”

Biting his lip, Danny asked “is this something I can do with him too? Once he comes home, I mean.”

“Sure, you can get one of these balls at any sporting goods store. Just be sure to get a decent brand, they last longer and take longer to start deflating.”

Nodding, Danny remained quiet through the rest of the session, watching as Josh moved Steve from sitting to standing, holding him up and offering support. After an hour and a half, Josh put Steve into a sitting position on the bed and swung his legs back up. “He’s got about an hour of downtime before the next therapy; usually he naps. If you want to get a coffee or something, cafe’s down the call.”

Thanking the large man, Danny watched him go before turning his attention back to Steve, who was curled on his right side, elephant tucked under his cheek. Smiling, he leaned over and placed a quick kiss on Steve’s cheek before ducking out of the room in search of a sandwich.

~*~

The routine as Ana had described it put all of the physical activities in the morning, and all of the more cognitive stuff in the afternoon. An older looking, sweet-faced lady came into Steve’s room and introduced herself as Ruth, the speech therapist. She and Danny wrestled Steve into the wheelchair and Danny pushed him down to what looked like an elementary school library.

“I like working in here better than in the rooms, you know? I don’t like for them to be so cooped up.” Ruth placed flashcards and various small toys on a table, beckoning Danny over. “Just push him right up to the edge here, that’s it. Now, what’ve you brought?”

The box of photos had been in Steve’s lap for the trip down, and Danny placed it on the table, removing a few. “I thought maybe, y’know, as visual aides?”

“Wonderful idea! I often ask the families and friends to bring in copies of pictures to use as home-made flash cards, to help with recalling of names. If you don’t mind picking out a few good headshots of the people closest, that would be great. They’re often the easiest to start with.”

Picking through the box, Danny half listened to Ruth as she spoke to Steve, showing him flashcards with a word on one side and a drawing on the other. He recognized some of them as the sorts of things he and Rachel had for Grace, when she was first learning to talk.

Ruth held up yet another card and Steve made a strange sort of grunting noise, startling Danny out of reverie. He glanced at Ruth, who seemed just as startled. Leaning over to see the image on the card, Danny’s mouth dropped open: it was an elephant. Shuffling the card back into the stack, Ruth went through them again, and still the elephant card elicited the same response. Nodding to herself, she made a note on her chart.

“I’ve been working with Steve every day for almost a month, and I have to tell you this is the first time he’s actually reacted to any of the images.”

“It’s weird... I bought him a stuffed elephant from the gift shop this morning, and he reacted to that, too.”

Grinning, Ruth reached out and patted Steve’s arm. “It would seem we’ve had a wee break-through. Well done, Steve. Shall we try some pictures?”

Sliding closer, Danny laid out four photos: himself, Kono, Gracie, and Chin. Ruth wrote the names on the backs of each photo and held them up for Steve to see, pronouncing each name slowly and clearly. When she got to Danny’s picture, she held it up and also gestured to him, and both Danny and Ruth watched as Steve looked from the picture to Danny’s face and back. A few more runs, and Ruth tried to ‘trick’ Steve, using the wrong names.

The only one he registered, each and every time, was Danny’s.

“You must be very special to him, for him to register this so quickly,” Ruth remarked, jotting down more notes. “This is wonderful, truly wonderful progress.”

“We, uh, we were very close,” Danny offered, not quite ready to reveal such personal information about himself and Steve. “We were partners at work, so we spent a lot of time together, as well as being friends.”

Ruth smiled, placing two photos on the table in front of Steve. One was of Grace, the other of Danny. Ruth asked Steve to point, or at least gesture towards one or the other, using Danny as the main choice. When two photos were placed on the table and neither were of Danny, Steve didn’t move either arm, just stared almost mistrustfully at the photos.

Danny could barely contain his excitement; the relief that there was actually something going on behind those vacant eyes was overwhelming. He might not have regained his speech, but he was responding to questions and solving problems, he was _cognitive_ , and for that Danny was overjoyed.

~*~

In the coming months, Steve got stronger and stronger, able to move his limbs on his own, balance on the yoga ball with no assistance, and even amble up and down the halls with the aide of a walker. Danny even managed to get Steve to chase him, speed-walking through the halls with Steve trundling behind, a serious expression on his face.

Reports were mailed to Danny monthly, complete with charts and doctors notes. Physically Steve was progressing well; being in such great shape prior to the accident put him ahead of the curve in terms of recovery. Mentally, however, things were moving along at a slower pace. He’d been assessed and found to be processing thought in much the same way a child would, struggling to grasp higher concepts and becoming frustrated with the inability to speak properly.

Ana had been teaching Steve baby sign language, as much of it could be done with one hand. The left hand always seemed to be cradled to Steve’s belly or clutching the stuffed elephant Danny had gotten him months before. Danny tried not to dwell too much on that, instead trying to learn the signs Steve was using.

“So I have a question,” Danny asked, sitting in a circle on the floor of Steve’s room. Ana was to his right, Steve to his left. “How much longer before I can take him home?”

Steve made a questioning noise, his attention focused on Ana also; Danny smiled at him.

“He’d need to have a final evaluation, and your home would need to be assessed. Because of his mobility issues, Steve is going to have specific needs for the home.”

“I’ve already started putting together a bedroom for him downstairs, since climbing up and down a flight is probably out.”

“That’s a good start; he’ll probably need a walk-in shower too, since climbing in and out of a tub isn’t a good idea, and standing in the shower is a liability.”

Frowning, Danny rubbed at his forehead. “I’m sure that sort of thing isn’t covered by insurance.”

Ana shrugged. “It might be, worth a shot just to look.”

Steve made a sound in the affirmative, grinning broadly at Danny when Danny smiled at him again. Any time Steve made noise was a step in the right direction as far as Danny was concerned. The sooner they stopped the signing, the better.

~*~

Josh had mentioned wanting to involve swimming as exercise, since Steve had been in the Navy and thus had a strong connection to the water. Danny had agreed, signing off on the activity and promising to bring a pair of swim trunks the next time he visited.

After getting Steve changed into his bathing suit, Danny and Josh accompanied him to the pool, where a few other residents were receiving therapy. Josh guided them towards the shallower end, stepping lightly down into the water.

“Alright Steve, want to feel the water?” Josh asked, extending a hand? Steve stared out across the pool, frown lines forming between his brows. With Danny’s help, he sat at the edge of the pool and stuck his feet in, swishing them around but going no further.

“C’mon babe, you haven’t had a swim in forever, hop in!” Danny said, trying to be encouraging. The expression on Steve’s face wasnt what he’d been expecting, and he had the sick feeling this wasnt going to go well. Josh seemed to have a similar feeling, frowning slightly himself.

“Is it too cold? You’ll get used to it after a few minutes,” the big man offered, coming closer and lightly grasping Steve above the elbow. “Just give it a try, and if you don’t like it, you can get out.”

With a tug, Steve was in the water up to his hips, and before Danny could begin to shout encouragement, Steve was scrambling, arms flailing as he tried to push himself back out of the pool. Eyes wide, Josh gave him a hand and both he and Danny watched Steve scramble on hands and knees away from the edge of the pool, tucking himself into the corner and wrapping his arms around his legs.

“What the fuck was that?” Danny demanded, glaring down at Josh.

“I have no idea,” Josh replied, looking shocked. “I’ve never had someone react like that.”

“Babe, what’s the matter, you don’t like the pool?” Danny asked, crouching down in front of Steve. “I know it’s not the ocean, but its the best we can do right now.”

At the mention of the ocean, Steve brightened, looking at Danny questioningly. Scratching at his chin, Danny thought for a moment before rolling his eyes.

“I think I know what the problem is here,” he said as Josh approached. “The house he was living in has a beach in the backyard, he’s always been able to just wander in, y’know? He always decided how deep or not he wanted to go. A pool doesn’t offer that, really, you’ve got like two choices of depth.”

“Hmm, I think you’re right, which is slightly unfortunate considering how good swimming would be for him.”

Danny shrugged. “I’m more concerned about him not losing his shit than about him swimming. I’ll take him swimming when we go home.”

With that, Steve was brought back to his room and changed into soft, loose pajamas. Josh bid them farewell and left them alone, sitting on Steve’s bed. The elephant was tucked securely under Steve’s left elbow, it’s customary place beside him.

“So, babe, I’ve been thinking about the whole bringing you home thing, and I have the feeling these guys won’t let you leave until you can talk, at least a little. The signing is ok, I guess, but not everyone knows ASL or baby ASL and if I have to bring in caretakers... well. I think we need to get Ruth down here to really get you working on that.”

Steve regarded him quietly, eyes glazed before coming back into focus. He smiled then, and danny knew he was on board.

“Alrighty... let’s try naming the people in the pictures, huh?” Danny suggested, waving a hand at the framed photos on the wall. A custodian had hung several at Danny’s request; there was a group photo of the team from a barbeque, Steve and Mary, Steve in uniform after graduating from Annapolis. Danny had even managed to dig up an old photo of Jack and Doris, though getting into all of that with Steve was not something he was looking forward to.

Moving to stand in front of the pictures, Danny called out names and waited while Steve pointed to the corresponding face. The team he had down pat, no problem. He usually recognized Kamekona, but only after Danny called him “shave ice.” Malia, Mamo, Gracie all followed after careful scrutiny of the photos.

“Mom and Dad,” Danny said, and Steve frowned, pointing at the picture of his parents. “And for good measure: me.”

Steve turned and stared at Danny; maybe it was a parenting thing, he couldn’t be sure, but he always referred to himself in the third person, hoping it would push Steve to say his name out loud. Just saying “me” was different.

After regarding Danny quietly for a moment, Steve smiled his sunny smile and pointed to Danny in the team picture. “Danno,” he said, still smiling.

“Yup, very good, ‘Danno’-- wait, what?”

Grinning, Steve repeated “Danno!”

“Oh my god,” Danny breathed, his heart in his throat. “Danno” wasnt a word he’d uttered since Steve had been awake; there was no way he’d heard it at the rehab, so him saying it meant that he remembered. Overwhelmed with emotion, Danny threw his arms around Steve and tugged him close, squeezing tight.

This was the moment, _this_ was what he’d been waiting all those months for.

Steve was finally coming back to him.


	2. Chapter 2

The initial shock of Steve speaking was hard to get over at first, but once he did, Danny was running around to tell everyone he could think of. It was only one word, but after months of silence and grunting, it was like the second coming.

Ruth spent longer sessions with Steve, getting him to try other sounds and combinations. His voice was rusty, but Steve was more determined than ever; he’d seemed to have grasped what Danny had told him about going home, and he was ready to make the transition.

Once Chin and Kono were armed with the news, the cousins dashed in different directions, procuring contractors, plumbers, electricians, and carpenters. The house was going to need a full remodel of the downstairs to accommodate Steve’s needs, and Danny barely knew where to start.

“How big a bedroom do we think?” Chin asked; he and an architect cousin stood over a drafting table, Danny flanking them.

“Huh, not sure... I know he has a hard time getting comfortable on the bed at the rehab, it doesn’t give him enough room to roll over, so probably a queen size bed for the house? He’ll need room for a dresser, and probably shelving for his stuff... a good size closet would be helpful, too.”

The architect sketched at the speed of Danny’s words, pencil flying. “What about a bathroom?” he asked, pencil hovering.

“Handicap-accessible,” Danny sighed. “Walk-in tub so he can sit, safety bars everywhere so he has something to grab if he trips. He can do his own thing in the bathroom no problem, wash up and everything; it’s his mobility that worries me.”

The pencil scratched across the paper some more and the architect wrote in a few measurements. “I’m thinking this will require a bump-out, considering the age of the house and the location of the plumbing.”

“That’s fine, the Navy is paying for it, just tell me what we need to do, draw it up, and I’ll submit it to them for review, estimate and all.”

Chin smirked. “You’re getting a lot of pleasure out of making the Navy cough up for all this, aren’t you?”

“Damn right I am! They owe him, Chin, and you know it. If I could get away with knocking the house down and rebuilding from the ground up, I would.”

“Pretty sure they’d be suspicious of that, though if that was what was best for Steve--”

“They’d do it or I’d sue them,” Danny sneered. “Sue the _pants_ off them.”

Chuckling, Chin threw an arm around Danny’s shoulders. “You let me know how that goes for you, brah.”

~*~

Since he had the labor anyway, Danny had some work done to the upstairs of the house as well. Grace’s room was repainted, as well as the guest bathroom and the master suite. Having the house customized to fit Steve’s needs meant neither of them would be going anywhere for a good long while.

The bump-out for Steve’s new bedroom and bathroom went up no problem, framed in in almost record time. Pleased, Danny let Chin take over and went to visit with Steve to check on his progress.

Making his way to the rehab’s little library, he found Ruth and Steve at their customary table, various flash cards and items strewn about.

“Hey kids,” he called, waving. Ruth raised a hand, and Steve turned and smiled.

“Danno,” he said with a grin. “Danno, elle-phunt.”

“Huh?” Danny cocked his head, looking to Ruth for help. She smiled and gestured to Steve’s stuffed elephant. “Oh, I see; Steve, elle-eh-phunt,” he said, sounding it out phonetically.

Frowning, Steve repeated “elle-phunt. Danno? Elle-phunt?”

“Close enough, I guess.”

“Steve’s been working on animals,” Ruth supplied. “Obviously he has a favorite. Steve, let’s tell Danny about some of the other animals we have here.”

She held up a card and Steve focused in on it, serious face in place. “Fish,” he announced after a moment, smiling when Danny applauded. Card after card, he announced each type. Danny noted that most of them were animals with one-syllable names, like cat, dog, and bird. Anything with more syllables proved challenging.

“Why is that?” Danny asked. “He can say ‘Danno’ no problem, and that’s two syllables.”

“He can say ‘Kono’ with just as much ease,” Ruth replied. “The sounds are simple, almost repetitive, and so easy to form. However, you’ve noticed he has a difficult time with ‘Chin’ and ‘Grace’? Those are ‘hard’ sounds and take more time for the brain to figure out how the tongue and lips should move to produce them. He’ll get it in time.”

It was the best they could do at the moment, so Danny took it as the win it was and went home.

~*~

The build was progressing nicely; floors were down, blue board was on the walls, plaster was almost finished. The tile in the bathroom was just about done, and the walk-in tub was being installed when Danny walked in the door.

“Is that thing for real?” he called out, watching the men fit the tub into the framework of the bathroom.

“By real you mean... ?”

“How does it work, exactly.” Danny made his way into the bathroom, peering over the shoulder of the tub guy.

“Door’s got a water-tight seal on it; once it’s closed the water will stay in. Use these knobs here to turn the water on and adjust the temperature. We’re putting a pull bar along the wall here.”

“Right-hand side, awesome. So aside from the door it’s a normal tub? Can I clean it the same?”

The tub guy straightened, cracking his neck. “Look, man, I’ve got a print out with all the information you’ll need to maintain the tub, alright? You’ll get it as soon as I’m done.”

Taking the hint, Danny backed out of the room and moved back through the house. Unsure of what to do with himself, he went up to the master -- now his bedroom -- and called Grace.

“Danno! How’s Uncle Steve?”

“Hey Monkey, it’s nice to hear your voice too... and Uncle Steve did something amazing this week.”

“What’d he do?”

Grinning, Danny paused for dramatic effect. “He spoke. He said my name, and now he’s saying all kinds of things.”

Grace’s squeals echoed through the phone, which danny held at arms length, so he wouldn’t go deaf. He could understand her excitement, he’d been ready to squeal himself.

“I wanna visit him! Will he be home soon?”

“When the addition is done it’ll be ok for him to come home, for now he’s staying at the rehab. I’m thinking maybe I can bring you with me the next time I go over there, though. We’ll have to ask your mom.”

Grace shrieked with delight, rambling off all of the things she wanted to tell Steve and all of the pictures she wanted to show him. Grinning to himself, Danny spoke to her a bit longer before ending the call and flopping onto the bed.

He was exhausted and while he probably shouldn’t have been sleeping while people were working on the house, he wasn’t sure he’d make it until a later hour.

~*~

Danny slept the sleep of the entirely worn out and woke up no less refreshed than when he went to bed. He grumbled about this at length, but it was mostly to himself as the work crew had arrived at the house yet.

He got a shower and dressed, needing to pick up coffee and maybe some malasadas before he went to Rachel and Stan’s. He’d found that sometimes dropping in on them when he wanted to request Grace spend time with him worked best, as then Rachel couldn’t come up with a reasonable excuse to not let him.

As it would happen, Grace had a half day at school, and Danny was more than welcome to pick her up and have her overnight, as long as she got to school on time the next day. Rachel put an overnight bag together and sent Danny on his way; his plan was to collect Grace from school and take her on a surprise visit to the rehab to see Steve. Grace had been asking about him constantly, and he’d been asking about her just as much, in his own way. He had a hard time with her name, but he knew who she was and he missed her; Danny couldn’t blame him.

After collecting Grace at the appropriate time, they drove off to the rehab, Grace firing off question after question and Danny doing his best to answer them. She practically vibrated with excitement in her seat, and barely restrained herself from running full-stop into the building when they arrived.

Danny quickly caught up to her and took her hand in his. “Listen up, Monkey, ok? There are a lot of people recovering in this place, and not all of them have good balance or can move fast. We have to be careful to not run in the halls or bump into anyone, alright? We should also try not to yell, that might startle some of these folks.”

Grace nodded impatiently, eager to be off, and Danny just chuckled, leading her through the building. If Steve was feeling up to it, maybe he’d want to give Grace a grand tour of the facility and show her his therapy rooms.

Smiling to himself, Danny almost missed the slightly muffled sound of shouting. He paused, brows furrowing until he realized the shouting was coming from the resident wing. _Oh, please don’t let that be Steve,_ he thought as he and Grace hurried down the hall. They turned the corner and stopped short; Josh was standing in the middle of the hall, long arms wrapped securely around Steve’s chest. Steve was shouting, practically _screaming_ , at a snappily dressed Naval officer.

It wasn’t the same kid that had gotten in touch with Danny while Steve was in the hospital; no, this guy was older, _much_ older, and he had a slightly affronted look on his face. He reached out to touch Steve’s arm and Josh jerked them both back, snarling.

“Don’t touch him! He’s having an episode, you need to leave.”

The officer made a rude noise and turned smartly on his heel, striding back down the hall towards where Danny and Grace were standing, gape-mouthed. He didn’t acknowledge them, just walked right past and Danny could feel his blood boiling. He dragged Grace behind him to Steve’s room, remaining outside while Josh and now Ana attempted to calm him.

“What in the name of god is going on here,” he said, jaw clenched. Ana whipped around and Danny could see she was flustered. Josh was settled into a chair, Steve in his lap, eyes vacant and left thumb stuffed into his mouth.

“Steve is having a little episode,” she began, before Josh cut her off.

“Little? C’mon, this wasn’t a little one.”

Danny threw his arms up, Grace cowering behind him. “Can someone just _please_ explain to me what just happened?”

Ana’s shoulders slumped, and Danny felt his throat tighten; not good. He watched the petite woman gather her thoughts before composing herself.

“Ever since Steve has started speaking, he’s been remembering things, like your name and little things from his past. We always encourage this sort of thing, it helps these people put their lives back together. However, in Steve’s case, he’s remembering a lot of... unsavory moments from his life, and right now his mental capacity doesn’t allow him to grasp those situations or make sense of them. We’ve found that he’s usually completely fine unless someone address him using his title, then he... well, you caught the tail end of it. The gentleman that was just here wanted a report of all of Steve’s progress up to this point, and everything was fine until--”

“Until he was ready to leave,” Josh cut in, “and saluted before calling Steve by his formal title. His eyes dilated, his posture snapped to ram-rod straight, and then he started yelling; he was terrified.” Steve was still slumped in Josh’s lap, eyes wandering around the room but not focusing on any one thing. One of Josh’s big hands was rubbing soothingly up and down Steve’s back in an effort to keep him calm.

“I’m going to go out on a limb and assume this has happened before, then?” Danny asked, suddenly tired. He pulled Grace tighter to him, tucking her against his side; of course the day he decides to bring her along, something happens.

“Yeah, but not to this extent,” Ana said, running her fingers through her hair. “We only noticed there was a change when we realized he was having nightmares. Not all the time, but every once in awhile. The psychologist didn’t think much of it, since he didn’t try to talk to us about them, but then this started happening and now we’re pretty sure it’s all linked.”

“Ok, let me see if I’ve got this right: he’s having nightmares because he’s remembering, what, SEAL missions? War zones? And because of his mental state, he isn’t able to understand that these are memories from his past? I hate to break it to you folks, but he is a career Navy man, half his life was spent in service. He was on SEAL missions right up until his father died, there’s a _lot_ of pretty horrific stuff floating around in there. What am I supposed to do about this, huh?” Danny slumped at the end of his tirade, rubbing at his eyes. It was one thing after another.

“You do your best to bring him out of it, just like anyone else with PTSD,” Josh said, frank. “He might’ve been able to bury how he felt about things before, but now he doesn’t have that training, the mental competency to compartmentalize, so all of that stuff is coming to the surface. You just have to do the best you can.”

Easing Steve to his feet, Josh walked him over to the bed and settled him into it, elephant clutched firmly in one hand, thumb still tucked into his mouth. He did a quick check of Steve’s vitals before grabbing Ana to leave. “You can hang with him if you want, but in a few minutes a nurse will be in to give him something to calm his nerves, and after that he’s probably going to be sleepy.”

“Great,” Danny muttered as the therapists left, leaving him and Grace alone with Steve.

“Daddy... is Uncle Steve ok?” Grace whispered, face creased with worry.

“Yeah, baby, he is now. That old man wasn’t very nice and said something to Steve he shouldn’t have, but he’ll be alright now.”

Slowly approaching the bed, Danny did his best to smile reassuringly. “Hey babe! Look who I brought to see you!”

Steve’s eyes flicked over to Danny before settling on Grace, who was half hiding behind her father. He slowly brought his thumb from his mouth, studying the little girl quietly before quietly asking “Gacie?”

Danny smiled for real that time, nodding enthusiastically. “Yeah, Gracie! See Monkey? He remembers you, he’s just having a tough time saying your name.”

Grace wrinkled her nose. “Charlie sounds like that when he says my name. Uncle Steve, can you say monkey?”

Steve’s brow furrowed before he shook his head ‘no.’ “Gacie,” he said instead, eyes tired. “Gacie, Danno. Gacie, Danno... Steve.”

Fighting the sudden feeling of tears, Danny leaned over the bed and hooked an arm around Steve’s shoulders. “That’s right, babe, Gracie, Danno, and Steve. Together again, and better than ever.”

Climbing up onto the bed, Grace examined Steve’s elephant and asked him questions about his therapy, which he did his best to answer. The nurse appeared in the doorway, holding a small paper cup. Danny beckoned her in and she administered the meds, Steve frowning as he took them. After she left Danny slumped into the chair beside the bed, suddenly just as tired as he had been the night before, the week before, the month before.

Two sets of concerned eyes regarded him from the bed and Danny scrubbed at his face, trying to get himself back in order. The visit was ruined, Steve was already starting to droop from the medication, and Grace was still shaken from the commotion. The best thing to do was bid Steve farewell and come back another time, and it was hard, the hardest thing because while Grace looked disappointed, Steve looked absolutely _crushed_. His eyes were watery, and his bottom lip quivered ever so slightly, and Danny kicked himself mentally; Steve probably thought all of this mess was his fault, and that Danny was mad at him or something.

“Gracie, can you wait outside for just a minute? Just right outside the door, ok? I need to talk to Steve for a second.” Grace nodded and stepped outside the door; Danny waited to make sure she was just out of earshot before swooping down on Steve, wrapping him in a tight hug.

“Babe, I’m sorry this visit didn’t work out, I really am, but it’s ok because soon you’ll be home and you can see Grace a lot more, I promise. You need to sleep right now, I’ll be back soon, ok?”

“I bad?” Steve asked, tentative. Danny squeezed his eyes shut, this new, uncertain voice breaking his heart.

“No, no you didn’t do anything wrong, you weren’t bad. It was that guy, he was a jerk. Don’t worry about it, ok? Danno loves you, I’ll be back soon.”

He gave Steve one last squeeze and a quick kiss to the top of his head before grabbing Grace and heading for the exit. He put on a brave face for her, but inside he was roiling. Emotions he didn’t realize he’d been keeping tamped down were threatening to surface, and he needed to get away.

~*~

The house being under construction meant there’d be people everywhere, and Danny just couldn’t deal. He’d received PTO for all the time he was out while Steve was in the hospital, so he had some extra funds; directing the Camaro towards a hotel, Danny told Grace they were going to have a mini-vacation for the night, since the house was a mess. She brightened right up at that, and once they were checked in and Grace was occupied with a movie and snacks, Danny quietly closed himself into the bedroom.

Climbing onto one of the beds, he buried his face in the pillow and just... let go. Tears came, hot and cloying, followed by harsh anger and a sick, heavy feeling in his stomach. Reality settled in and it was bleak; as well as Steve was doing, as much progress as he’d made, he wasn’t anywhere close to being the Steve Danny knew, the Steve he’d fallen in love with. He didn’t love the man any less, of course, his love for Steve was never going to change. The _way_ he loved him, though... that was being forced to change, to fit the new nature of the situation, and Danny felt anguish break out of him and into the pillow.

He was mourning, because really it wasn’t just Steve who’d lost something, was it? No, Danny had also lost, he’d lost one of the most precious things to him. A dark, nasty part of Danny thought that it might’ve all been easier if Steve hadn’t survived the beating, if he’d been beaten to death in some dirty alley or dark Osaka street. The very idea made bile rise hot in Danny’s throat, and he rolled off the bed to stumble into the bathroom, collapsing to the tile beside the toilet.

“Never, never will I ever wish he’d died instead, never,” he whispered to himself, angry. The thought was despicable, it made him feel like the most worthless person ever; another part of him was sure that this was part of the process, and that maybe he should consider talking to someone.

“Take my own advice and see a shrink,” he muttered, coming to his feet and splashing his face with cold water. He would, he decided, he would seek out a therapist to help him work through all of these conflicting feelings. He needed to be the best he could for Steve and Grace, and he couldn’t do that if he was wallowing in his own confused emotions. They needed him, both of them, as well as Kono and Chin; he needed to keep it together.

Taking a minute to compose himself, Danny went back out to the main room to join Grace on the couch; she was watching “Brave,” which he hadn’t seen yet. He let himself get lost in the movie, just turned his brain off for a while. Continuing to think about everything that had happened was just too much work.

~*~

Grace was dropped at school the following morning, and Danny zipped home to change his clothes and shave. Steve’s bedroom was done; he paused to inspect it, making note of where he’d put Steve’s furniture. The walls were a soothing shade of blue, the trim white; the room was going to have a distinctly nautical feel, which Danny felt was appropriate. He’d found a queen sized bed with a white frame at a store, and various other pieces online. They weren’t white, but he was pretty sure with some help he could sand them down and paint them.

Nodding to himself, he poked his head into the bathroom and whistled; all the fixtures were new, gleaming in the light. The tub was massive, but then again it had to be, and only Steve would be using it, so Danny didn’t mind. Once the furniture was in, Steve could come home.

Arriving at HQ, Danny was accosted by Chin and Kono.

“We heard about Steve; what the hell happened?” Kono demanded, hands on her hips. “We heard he flipped his shit.”

“What? Where did--how did you--”

Chin shook his head. “Hacked into their security system, pretty easy to do. Saw some notes about a disturbance involving Steve.”

Danny wrung his hands. “Yes, ok, yes there was a disturbance. Apparently calling him ‘Lieutenant Commander’ is triggering and _of course_ the day I choose to bring Gracie along, some asshole from the Navy is there and triggers Steve. He was pitching a fit when we got there.”

The cousins exchanged a look. “And... no one thought to mention this to visitors?” Kono asked, amazed. “I feel like that’s sort of an important fact to know beforehand.”

“I had no idea,” Danny shrugged. “The therapists explained it to me. I mean, don’t get me wrong: I’m pissed, because any and all changes are supposed to be brought to my attention. But, what can you do? Steve isn’t their only case, and I’m sure he isn’t the only person there who gets triggered.”

“Aside from that, how was he?” Chin asked, leaning against the surface table, arms folded. “Any more progress with the speech?”

“Oh, yeah actually, he asked me if it was his fault before I left, y’know, all the freaking out.”

Chin raised his eyebrows, as if to ask ‘oh really’ and Danny shrugged. “Not in so many words; it amounted to ‘I bad’ but I got the gist.”

“I have a question,” Kono piped up, frowning. “After he’s signed off to go home, what are you guys gonna do? Sounds to me like he needs, um... supervision, and if you’re working, who’s gonna watch him?”

Danny opened his mouth to respond before shutting it again with a clack. That was an excellent point, something he hadn’t considered yet. That much must have been obvious, because Kono’s expression immediately turned sympathetic.

“I’m pretty sure the governor would be willing to grant you a little more leave, to get Steve situated into his new surroundings... and between me and Chin, we’ve got enough aunties to fill in every day of the week.”

“I’m not sure what to do about caretakers, since I’m not sure what sort of care he’s gonna need in the house,” Danny sighed. “I’m pretty confident he’ll need someone there 24/7, y’know? He’s like a child, guys; he can do basic things himself, but he doesn’t have the same adult world-view we do, he needs to have someone there.”

“What about a day program?” Chin offered, fingers already flying over the surface table. “I think I’ve heard of work programs and the like for the disabled, maybe there’s something we can get Steve into? If not for the whole day, maybe half?” He flicked his fingers and a few different pages come up, each a website for various adult day programs.

Brow furrowed, Danny tapped at his chin. “That’s not a bad idea, actually... I’d have to talk to the therapists and whoever at the rehab, see what sorts of things he’d be capable of doing, but if they can suggest tasks or even a program specifically, that’d be great. At least it’d give him something to do, stimulate his brain for a few hours every day.”

“Ok, so, work-release or day program for half the day, and an auntie for the other half,” Kono grinned, clapping Danny on the shoulder. “If it takes two, three, _four_ aunties, we’ll get there, Danny. You find out what sort of care and people are best for him, and we’ll make it happen.”

“Yeah, don’t worry about it,” Chin threw in, coming to stand at Danny’s other side. “We’re ohana, brah, we’re all in this together, no matter what.”

Emotion rose hot in Danny’s throat, so he couldn’t speak, but instead threw his arms around his team and hugged them to himself, clutching. They clutched back, seeming to need the contact just as much as he did. They were right, of course, they were a family and they would all do whatever they could for Steve, in any way they could.

~*~

With the help of Chin and Kono, Kamekona and a few of his cousins, the rest of Steve’s furniture was sanded, painted, and set up in his bedroom. Kono had purchased a bed-set that fit the nautical theme, not too adult but not childish, either, and made up the bed. Books, toys, and models of ships were placed on shelves, and framed photos of various tall ships and family members were hung on the walls. The group of them stood in the center of the room and observed their work, the satisfaction of a job well done thick in the air.

Chin got a call from Malia and had to leave, but promised to leave his phone on if Danny needed anything; Kamekona wrapped Danny in a bone-crushing hug before he and his cousins took their leave. Only Danny and Kono remained.

“What d’you say we put away some of these clothes?” Kono offered, gesturing towards the bags of brand new clothes Danny had gotten for Steve. He’d had a bad dream about the cargo pants and polo shirts being a trigger for Steve, and while it seemed silly in the light of day, he didn’t want to risk it.

“Yeah, ok.”

Together they paired outfits, folded t-shirts and shorts, balled socks. Ana had mentioned that Steve was in the routine of wearing pajama sets to bed, so Danny had gone out in search of adult-sized pajamas, only to be sorely thwarted. Kono had suggested making his own sets, and Danny had thumped himself on the forehead; duh. So, he’d grabbed various character pajama pants and corresponding t-shirts with logos on them, pairing them and sticking them into drawers.

The few dress clothes Steve owned were carefully hung in the closet, alongside his dress blues. Looking at them made Danny’s heart ache, so he spent only a little time hanging clothes.

Once done, Kono also said goodbye, making the same promise to leave her phone on. Danny hugged her gratefully, again so thankful for the people he worked with. Alone in Steve’s room, he opened the curtains and windows, airing out the “new stuff” smell. He’d been in talks with the rehab about a date and procedure for bringing Steve home. There was paperwork (of course) and all sorts of forms for doctors to sign off on.

In the end, everything was finalized and Danny was ecstatic; Chin, Kono, and Grace agreed to wait at the house and get everything ready while Danny took Steve’s truck to pick him up; apparently something with the seatbelts was better in the truck than in the Camaro? He wasn’t sure.

Regardless, he was nervous as he approached the front door of the facility. Josh and Ana were with Steve in the front greeting room, his few belongings in a bag beside him. The stuffed elephant was tucked into the crook of Steve’s left elbow, hugged tightly to his side. Upon seeing Danny, he smiled that bright, sunny smile and hobbled over.

“Babe, no walker?” Danny asked, shocked, as Steve slammed into him, grinning. Steve shook his head no and tugged at his left pant-leg; getting the hint, Danny tugged at the fabric until the bottom of a brace was revealed.

“That keeps his knee from buckling, should his leg get tired,” Josh called. “He only has to wear it if he’s going to be out and about a lot; at home he doesn’t need it as long as he’s supervised.”

“Yeah, Danno,” Steve chirped, wiggling with excitement. “Home?”

“Yeah, buddy, we’re going home,” Danny smiled, gathering up Steve’s things and leading the way out to the truck. Josh helped Steve get up into the passenger seat, showing Danny the best way to assist without hurting himself, then got Steve buckled in.

“Good luck, Danny,” Josh said, offering a hand. “You’ve got both our cards; call any time, we’ll be here.”

“Thanks guys, really, thank you so much.” Danny swung up into the truck and glanced over at Steve, who was clutching his elephant to his chest.

“Ready babe?”

Steve nodded enthusiastically, wiggling about in his seat. Smiling, Danny started up the truck and pointed them towards home.


	3. Chapter 3

The whole ride home, Steve couldn’t seem to focus on any one thing. He stared at everything as their surroundings passed by, and Danny would’ve been amused if not for the fact he was sure Steve felt like he was seeing much of it for the first time.

“So, babe, Gracie, Kono, and Chin will be at the house waiting for us. They’re all very excited to see you,” Danny said, glancing over at his passenger.

“See me?” Steve asked, curious. “Kono, C’in see me?”

“Yup. We’re gonna have to work on you saying Chin’s name... I’m sure he’ll think of something.”

The rest of the drive was quiet, Steve watching the houses and business pass by, gazing up at the sky, turning the elephant over in his hands.

Arriving at the house, Danny carefully eased the truck up the driveway and pulled in alongside the Camaro. A flutter of nervousness was in his belly; only Grace had seen Steve, and while Kono and Chin had received regular updates, they hadn’t seen this new Steve for themselves.

Steve was nervous as well, chewing on the nail of his left thumb, eyes flicking between Danny and the front door. He stood beside the truck while Danny gathered his things, trundling along behind up to the door.

“Ready Steve?” Danny asked quietly, hand resting on the doorknob. Steve nodded, right hand darting out to grasp at Danny’s arm.

Danny opened the door slowly, knowing that the rest of his team and Grace had heard him speaking before. They stood in a cluster in the living room, expectant looks on their faces. Once all standing in the same room -- Steve just behind Danny’s shoulder -- they stared at each other, silent.

Finally, Grace made the first move. “Welcome home, Uncle Steve!” she called, hurrying over and nudging Danny out of the way so she could wrap her arms around Steve’s waist.

“We’ve missed you,” Kono added, emotion thick in her voice. She approached Steve slowly, extending her arms to offer a hug. Steve regarded her quietly before grinning.

“Kono!” he announced, leaning into the hug. Within the confines of her arms, he glanced at Chin, frowning for a moment before smiling again. “C’in!”

Grinning himself, Chin came over and wrapped both Kono and Steve in a hug. “Aloha, brah. It’s good to see you.”

Manfully knuckling away tears, Danny cleared his throat. “How about we show Steve his bedroom?”

Grace shrieked with delight and grabbed Steve by the wrist, tugging him along. She got no more than three steps before Danny stopped her. “Whoa, hey! He’s not that steady yet, don’t pull on him,” he told her firmly.

Blinking up at him, Grace waited a beat before nodding, moving much more slowly than before, Steve padding along behind her. The cousins exchanged a look before following them down the hall into the new addition to the house.

“See, Uncle Steve? We put boats and sailing stuff up for you!” Grace was saying, gesturing to the walls and shelves.

Steve made his way around the perimeter, looking at the pictures and models, poking at the toys and books. He turned and caught Danny’s eye. “My?” he asked, waving an arm.

“Mine,” Danny corrected gently, “and yes, Steve, it’s yours. What d’you think? Cool?”

“Yeah,” Steve told him, smiling. “Yeah, Danno.”

They filed out of the bedroom and into the bathroom, showing Steve the walk-in tub. He was mystified by it, opening and closing the little door, sitting on the bench inside and touching the knobs. “My... mine?” he asked again, skeptical.

Amused, Danny told him again that it was his. Satisfied, Steve removed himself from the bathroom and lead them back out into the living room. Kono went to the kitchen to grab the lunch they’d prepared, Grace hurrying to help her. Chin and Danny sit on either side of Steve on the couch, watching him look around the room.

“Steve,” Chin began, “it sounds like saying my name is kinda tough for you. Maybe you and I can think of something easier?”

Steve nodded at that, eyes thoughtful. Chin hummed, thinking, before shrugging. “Is it weird for him to just call me ‘brah’?”

“Brah,” Steve repeated, as though tasting the word. “C’in? Brah.”

“I guess he approves,” Danny chuckled. “Works for me.”

“Me too,” Chin replied, slinging an arm around Steve’s shoulders and tugging him in for a side-hug.

Kono and Grace returned with lunch, which consisted of sandwiches, fruit salad, and ice tea. Danny popped up and rifled through Steve’s bag; he struggled with coordination a little bit, and the therapists had sent him home with a bib. Retrieving it, he tied it around Steve’s neck, dropping a kiss on his forehead when Steve cranned his head back to look.

“To Steve being home,” Kono toasted, holding up her glass. There was the clinking of glasses and the muffled sounds of chewing then, as everyone tucked into their lunch.

After everyone had eaten, Steve and Grace went to explore the house. Periodically, Danny would hear Steve ask a question and Grace answer it. He was struck with the odd sensation that he was not the father of one, but two children. The thought that he was now parenting Steve made him shiver, causing Kono to glance over, concerned.

“You ok?” she asked, brow furrowing.

Shaking himself, Danny nodded. “Yeah, goose walked over my grave, I guess.”

Eying him skeptically, Chin shook his head. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but have you considered... speaking to someone? About all of this?”

“No worries, because I have in fact thought about that. I was thinking of one of the shrinks from HPD--”

“No!” Kono cut him off. “Not one of them; they aren’t equipped to talk to you about this. You need to find a _real_ shrink.”

Chin arched a brow. “Cuz, those _are_ real shrinks.”

She frowned. “You know what I mean, this isn’t killing a perp or whatever, this is out of their depth.”

“I suppose I can ask them for references?” Danny offered. “Or one of the secretaries? Because I agree, I guess, this is a little different than the usual stuff they cover.”

“Daddy?” Grace called, appearing in the doorway. “Uncle Steve wants to go down to the beach.”

The adults glanced at each other before going in search of Steve. He was on the lanai, hugging his elephant and gazing out at the ocean. He looked calm, peaceful in a way Danny hadn’t observed yet.

“Hey babe, wanna walk down to the water?” he asked, bumping Steve’s shoulder with his own. Steve nodded and they all made their way down across the sand, Danny grumbling about sand in his shoes.

~*~

The governor had graciously granted Danny more leave, but only under the condition that this be the last for a long while. Danny did his best to promise, but he knew there’d be circumstances beyond his control.

On the surface, getting Steve settled seemed relatively simple. Danny had a print-out of Steve’s routine, which he’d follow for a bit to help Steve relax before working in new things. The monkey wrench was that the house was nothing like the rehab, and so for the first few days Steve outright refused to go to bed at the usual time, and so was cranky for most of the next day. He was unwilling to do things, and thus his entire schedule became a mess almost from the start.

Danny had never been to thankful for his fatherly patience, but even that would wear thin. He didn’t want to yell or punish Steve, but when the other man was acting like a petulant child... well. Danny spent a lot of time biting his tongue.

Finally he decided to give up on Steve’s original schedule and sit down to devise a routine of their own. Steve was unable to reconcile his rehab schedule in the house; Danny was coming to realize that there many things Steve couldn’t reconcile.

After careful observation, he found that Steve did best if he went to bed around eight-thirty; if he got ready for bed an hour before then, he’d have time to put on pajamas, brush his teeth, and play in his room before getting into bed. As it would happen, Steve could follow the clock, in that he knew that when the hands were in a certain position, a certain thing had to happen. Danny put a large, round-faced clock in Steve’s room, allowing him to determine when it was time for bed.

In addition, getting Steve up after he himself had already gotten up, showered, and dressed meant Danny had more patience and time to get Steve ready for the day. That could be easier said than done, of course, when Steve balked at having Danny help him dress or make his bed. He wanted to do things for himself, which was understandable; there were just some things Steve couldn’t do on his own, though.

“Steve, babe, _please_ put on your shirt?” Danny pleaded, holding the long sleeve t-shirt in his hands. Steve was sitting on his bed, a scowl on his face. He’d gotten his shorts up to mid-thigh before stopping, socks, shoes, and brace strewn on the floor.

“I not,” he grumbled, picking at the sheets. “I not, Danno.”

Danny threw up his hands. “Why the fuck not? I know it’s practically embedded in your DNA to run around stark naked, but we have to go out into polite society today, we have to go food shopping, and you can’t go into the stores with no shirt. You just can’t.”

Steve’s eyes had glazed over, giving him a far-away look, and Danny heaved a sigh. That look meant Steve was retreating inward, trying to internally puzzle out what Danny was saying; it happened any time Danny ranted, or used words that Steve didn’t understand.

It was infuriating in it’s ability to make Danny feel like an asshole.

Taking a deep breath and counting back from ten, Danny moved to sit beside Steve on the bed. “Babe? Can you look at me?”

Steve’s eyes cleared and he turned to gaze at Danny, a mistrustful look on his face.

“Is it this shirt? Do you not like it? Because you have so many other shirts we can choose from, do you want to pick a new one?” Danny asked, moving to open the shirt drawer. Steve levered himself up, tugging at his shorts and hobbling over, left foot dragging on the floor. He peered into the drawer, watching Danny lift and move some of the shirts out of the way. A garish purple t-shirt was revealed, and Steve’s face brightened into a smile.

Danny rolled his eyes but allowed it, giving Steve the shirt to put on. He watched the other man tug it on without too much difficulty, before allowing Danny to button and zip his shorts. Together they put on his shoes, socks, and brace, and finally made their way into the kitchen for breakfast.

Parenting was about choosing one’s battles, and Danny decided that if Steve picking out his own clothes made the morning go smoothly and kept everyone happy, then that’s what they’d do.

~*~

Aside from a few arguments over bedtime and what to have for lunch, things were running smoothly. It was almost too good to be true, in fact; with Chin’s help, Danny had found an acceptable day program for Steve, one that would pick him up in the morning and drop him off back at the house in the afternoon. A few aunties had volunteered to meet Steve at the house and stay with him until Danny got home, as well as take care of things around the house.

Danny had even started seeing a therapist, slowly but surely unraveling the source of his emotional turmoil. In true life-of-Danny-Williams fashion, however, nothing can ever sail smoothly for long.

Steve was in bed, had been for a few hours, and Danny was reading casenotes in bed with the TV on low. He was dozing off, stubbornly refusing to pack it up and go to sleep. Abruptly he was startled awake, flailing a bit on the mattress. Unsure of what had woken him, he muted the TV and listened, frowning.

An anguished cry rose from the first floor, and Danny’s heart was in his throat as he rushed from his bedroom and down the stairs. He could hear Steve thrashing now, elbows and knees thumping against the mattress in time with his groans.

Slowly opening the door, Danny bit his lip at the sight of Steve’s strained features. He crept to the bed, unsure of how to proceed. Steve hadn’t had a nightmare since he’d been home, and the advice the therapists had given him wasn’t exactly helpful. While Steve might not be with it consciously, there was no telling what was going on subconsciously; years of hand-to-hand combat training doesn’t just melt away.

“Steve? Hey babe, wake up,” he called softly, just barely sitting on the edge of the bed. Steve whined, eyes screwed shut tight, but not waking. Sighing, Danny tentatively reached out and touched Steve’s shoulder, tensing. Steve stilled before wrenching away, rolling onto his elbows and knees.

Danny squeezed his eyes shut at the image, which did nothing but send the blood from his upstairs brain rushing south. It was not the type of reaction he had time for, and he did his best to suppress the almost-overwhelming urge. Instead, he inched over on the bed and gently placed a hand on Steve’s back, keeping the pressure light but consistent. “Steve, wake up, it’s Danno, you’re having a bad dream.”

There was a grunt, a snuffle, and Steve sat bolt upright on his knees, eyes wide but unseeing. He whipped his head around to stare at Danny, panting, still caught in the throes of his nightmare. Danny repeated his name, keeping his voice low and soothing. Gradually, Steve’s ramrod posture relaxed, and he became increasingly aware of his surroundings.

“D-danno?” he asked, voice trembling. Danny barely had a moment to respond before Steve was throwing himself into Danny’s arms, sobbing. Gritting his teeth, Danny stroked a hand up and down Steve’s back, humming.

“You’re ok buddy, it was just a bad dream, Danno’s right here,” Danny muttered as Steve cried against his chest. Steve pulled back to look at him, like he wanted to say something; instead he frowned and dropped his head, chin on his chest. Dark spots appeared on his shirt, tears dripping from his chin. “Steve, babe, really! It’s ok!”

“Danno... stay?” Steve asked, voice thin and watery. Something in Danny’s chest constricted painfully, but he nodded, walking Steve to the bathroom and back before tucking him in. Danny slid in beside, startling slightly when Steve immediately plastered himself to Danny’s side. Readjusting their limbs, Steve’s head was tucked beneath Danny’s chin, and Danny’s arms were wound around Steve’s shoulders.

The feeling of Steve’s sleep-warm body against his was so comforting, Danny felt himself begin to drift off almost immediately. He fell into sleep to the sound of Steve’s familiar, reedy snores.

~*~

_Pleasure was coursing through his body as he slowly thrust in and out of Steve’s hot, tight hole. The other man was writhing beneath him, arms and legs wrapped around Danny’s body in a jumble. They rocked together, coming almost simultaneously. Panting, Danny began to pull out when Steve tightened his embrace._

_“No, not yet,” he murmured against Danny’s neck. “Stay with me.”_

_“I am,” Danny whispered back, lifting off enough to look Steve in the face. Something wasn’t right, but he couldn’t figure out what._

_“Danny... I miss you, I miss you so much.”_

_Suddenly Danny realized what was wrong, and something tight coiled in his throat. “I miss you too babe, you don’t understand how badly.”_

_Steve smiled knowingly, leaning up to kiss Danny gently on the lips. “Listen to me now, partner, this is important. These nightmares, they aren’t going to stop, though they will grow to be less and less. I’m going to ask questions, because I’m going to be remembering things. It’s up to you whether or not those things are explained to me.”_

_Somewhere, Danny had started weeping, and Steve’s hands were clumsily trying to wipe away the tears._

_“How do you expect me to do that? You won’t understand, I don’t want to scare you.”_

_Sighing, Steve wiggled slightly from beneath him. “I’m already scared, Danny, that’s why I’m having nightmares. I don’t have the ability to reconcile the old memories from before with my worldview now, that’s why I need your help. All of the walls I was trained to build up to compartmentalize my life are gone. Everything is spilling all over itself.”_

_“I’m not sure how to do this, Steve, I can’t--”_

_Steve lightly thumped Danny on the back of the head, frowning. “There is no ‘I can’t’, here. You’re doing a great job already, just like I knew, I know you would. I’m in there, Danno, I’m still with you, I’m just... different.”_

_Danny had shut his eyes, crying too hard now to want to hear what Steve was telling him. He buried his face against Steve’s neck and held on._

~*~

Danny sat bolt upright in the bed, sweating, eyes darting around. The surroundings were strange for the few seconds it took for his brain to catch up, telling him he was in Steve’s room, Steve’s bed, because Steve had had a nightmare during the night.

At the moment Steve was sleeping peacefully, slightly resembling the man from the dream, though this Steve was sucking his thumb and clutching a stuffed elephant to his chest. Letting out a shuddery breath, Danny ran his fingers through his wild bedhead and laid back down. He had a raging hard-on and his cheeks felt itchy and tight; the remnants of tears shed. He thought extremely unsexy thoughts, willing the erection away while the sun climbed higher in the sky, signaling a more appropriate hour to get up.

It was the first day of Steve’s day program, Danny’s first day back to work full time, and the first day Steve would be without Danny for an extended period of time. He hoped that the events of the evening wouldn’t affect Steve’s ability to make it through the day.


	4. Chapter 4

When the van arrived to pick Steve up, Steve was waiting at the end of the driveway, backpack dangling from one hand, elephant in the other. Danny was beside him, frowning at the stuffed animal.

“Babe, I don’t think it’s a good idea to bring your elephant with you; I don’t want anything to happen to it.”

Steve’s gaze moved back and forth between Danny and the toy, expression darkening. He opened his mouth to respond when he was cut off by the van, the driver honking the horn. Danny deftly reached out and snagged the toy, his other hand between Steve’s shoulder blades. The doors opened and Danny pushed, guiding Steve up the short steps onto the van. The driver smiled, shook Danny’s hand, and made sure Steve was buckled in securely.

As the van pulled away, Danny stood at the end of the driveway, waving until he couldn’t see the van anymore. Something thick and heavy was in his chest, similar to watching Grace board the bus for the first day of school. Wiping at his eyes, he went back to the house, depositing the stuffed elephant on Steve’s bed for when he got home.

~*~

“The king is in the house!” Chin called when Danny made his way into the bullpen, chucking a balled up piece of paper at him. “Welcome back, brah.”

“Thanks man,” Danny replied, leaning against the surface table. “We’ll see how _kingly_ I feel in a few hours.”

“How’d it go this morning?” Kono asked. “Did Steve get out ok?”

“Yeah, he was alright... can’t say the same for me, though. It was like Grace’s first day all over again.”

Kono smiled, giving Danny’s shoulder a squeeze. “He’s in good hands. Auntie Leilani will be there to get him off the van.”

Danny rubbed at his forehead. “About that, are you sure she’ll be ok with him? I mean, I explained everything to Steve as best I could, so I’m assuming he’s expecting to see her, and I know I left her a list of stuff, but still.”

Kono and Chin exchanged a look. “She’s sweet but tough; she also has a lot of experience with developmental challenges. No worries man, seriously,” Chin said, grinning. “If anyone can handle Steve, Auntie Leilani can.”

Sighing, Danny thanked them both before clapping his hands and declaring they get to work.

~*~

It was the longest day in the history of everything ever, Danny was pretty sure. He’d glance at the clock thinking an hour had passed by, only to see that five minutes had gone by. Groaning, he thumped his head down onto his desk and let it rest there. It was only lunch time; Steve wouldn’t be dropped off until after one or so, and Leilani would only just be getting to the house. He’d told himself he’d call to check in once he knew Steve had gotten home, just to make sure things were running smoothly.

Of course, if time decided to actually run _correctly_ , things would be a lot less stressful.

A knock brought Danny back from his thoughts, causing him to sit up a little too fast. He grimaced, rubbing at his temples before acknowledging the person at the door.

“Hey Boss, here’s that coroners report you wanted,” Kono called from the doorway, manila envelope in hand. “Are you alright?”

“Uh, yeah, just... needed to close my eyes for a minute. Staring at the screen too long gives me a headache.”

Arching a skeptical brow, Kono made her way into the office and propped one hip up on the edge of the desk. “Uh huh, and is that why you’ve been playing Watch-The-Clock for the last hour?”

Frowning, Danny skimmed a hand over his hair. “Am I being that obvious?”

“Just a little,” Kono teased, smiling. “When is our fearless leader due home?”

“Between one and one-thirty, I think? I’m just nervous about how he’ll take being away from me for so long. I’ve pretty much been the one constant this whole time; there is a never point where he’s without me, unless we’re sleeping.”

“Sounds like someone is suffering from separation anxiety.”

Danny opened his mouth to protest in Steve’s favor before realizing Kono was talking about him. Grumbling, he shooed her out, trying not to laugh along with her as she sashayed back across the bullpen.

~*~

At two-thirty on the nose, Danny shut the door to his office and dialed out to the house, fingers drumming nervously on his desk.

“Hello?” a female voice answered, and Danny had to smile, because he could hear Steve chirping his name in the background.

“Leilani? Hi, it’s Danny; how’re things going?”

“Oh, Danny! Fine, Stevie and I had a nice lunch when he got off the bus, and now we’re folding some laundry.”

Danny raised his eyebrows, though he knew she couldn’t see him. “Laundry? That’s amazing, I haven’t been able to convince him to help me with any of that.”

Leilani chuckled. “Exactly. He protested at first, but thus far his folded pile is bigger than mine, so I’d say he’s doing quite well.”

“Huh, ok, awesome. Does he, uh, does he want to talk to me at all?” Danny asked, cringing at how clingy he sounded. Leilani didn’t seem to notice, calling Steve over to the phone.

“Danno?”

“Hey bud! How’re you doing, are you having fun with Auntie Leilani?”

“Yeah...” Steve replied, though he didn’t sound too convincing.

“Yeah? Even though she’s got you doing chores?”

“I not wanna,” Steve said, the pout evident in his voice. “Auntie say I do it for Danno.”

One hand came up to clutch at his chest, and Danny took a deep breath. “Well, I appreciate the help babe, I really do. Thank you for being so helpful.”

Leilani was saying something in the background, and Danny couldn’t help but smile at the impatient huff Steve let out. “Danno, Auntie say I go now.”

“I should probably go myself... put her back on for me? And hey, Steve?”

“Yeah?”

“Danno loves you.”

“Steve loves Danno,” Steve replied before handing the phone over to Leilani, giving Danny mere seconds to compose himself; he’ll never get tired of hearing that.

“What time do you expect to be home, Danny? Or do you not know yet?”

“Umm... how about I ring the house when I have a better idea? We don’t have a case right now, but we’re up to our ears with paperwork, so I doubt I’ll be home anytime before five.”

“That’s fine; I can have dinner ready, if you’d like.”

Warmth spread through him, and he closed his eyes; he liked Leilani best out of all the aunties he’d met because she reminded him of his Ma. “I would really appreciate that, but only if it isn’t too much trouble.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, it won’t be. Aloha!”

“Aloha,” and he clicked off, settling back into his chair and huffing out a breath. Steve had sounded fine, Leilani didn’t hint towards any trouble or misbehaving, and Steve was even helping with chores; the first day of them being apart seemed to be going well. Danny didn’t want to get too excited yet, since he had such terrible luck, but he wasn’t going to deny himself the simple pleasure of not being stressed.

~*~

“Hello, anyone home?” Danny called into the quiet house. It was seven-thirty, which meant Steve would be getting ready for bed. Leilani had been fine with Danny being back later than anticipated, but he’d felt bad for keeping her and had picked up a small bottle of wine for her as a thanks.

“Danno!” Steve shouted, thundering his way out of his bedroom. “Auntie say I bath!”

“You-- huh? Well, you didn’t have one this morning so technically you should have one,” Danny said, slightly taken aback; Steve looked pissed.

Steve balled his fists and stomped his foot, telltale signs he was frustrated but unable to adequately explain why. “I not,” he finally said, frowning. “I not bath with Auntie.”

Danny cocked his head to the side, confused for a moment before it dawned on him: Steve didn’t want Leilani to see him in the tub.

“I tried to get him washed up earlier, but he refused,” Leilani offered, making her way in from the bathroom. “He said he wanted to wait for you, though I told him you’d be home too late.”

“Yeah, it’s ok, I’ll take care of it; thank you anyway.” Danny handed her the wine, wouldn’t take it back when she tried to give it, and shooed her out the door with a thanks and a hug before turning his attention to his petulant partner.

“Alright, she’s gone, let’s get you in the tub, huh? You’ve got another day of school tomorrow, and I know you won’t want to get up early.”

Steve trudged back into the bathroom, scowling at the steaming hot water. Danny noted a distinct lack of bubbles or boats, both of which were bath necessities. Shaking his head, he swirled in some shower gel for bubbles, and retrieved Steve’s bath boats from their shelf in the linen closet. He held onto the toys until Steve climbed in, which was awkward considering he was supposed to be able to use the little door; Danny was going to have to explain bathtime to Leilani.

“I know Auntie didn’t do things quite the same as we do them,” Danny began, handing over the toys once Steve was situated. “But that doesn’t mean you can tell her ‘no.’ She’s here to help us, and she’s new so she needs help getting used to our routine. Maybe next time instead of telling her you don’t want to, you show her how you and I do it?”

Steve was silent as he pushed his boats through the suds, shrugging one shoulder in acknowledgement.

“Steven.”

“Danno, Auntie bath... bad?”

“Wrong,” Danny corrected. “She did bathtime wrong, but that’s only because I didn’t explain to her about how this tub works. I also didn’t consider that you wouldn’t be comfortable with her seeing you undressed, that’s my bad.”

“I not want Auntie see me,” Steve said quietly, eyes flicking up to meet Danny’s before dropping. “See my booboos.”

Danny sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. Steve had scarring from the beating, and his left leg was slightly misshapen; he’d never shown any self consciousness over it before, but then again, Danny was the only one who’d seen him naked, prior to the beating and now after the fact.

“How about this: I’ll explain to Leilani that you would be more comfortable doing bathtime with me, but I’ll show her how the tub works anyway, just in case I come home too late to do it with you.”

“Yeah,” Steve sighed, reaching for his scrubby. Danny took that as his cue to leave; Steve was desperately trying to find some independence, and one of the things he could do on his own was wash. His scrubby was large and soft and easy to manipulate regardless of which hand he was using, and Danny was thankful that he didn’t have to do that for the other man as well.

Leilani had made ham with grilled pineapple, along with mashed potatoes and broccoli; Danny’s stomach was happy with this development, and it told him so loudly and at length. He was midway through his dinner when Steve trundled his way out to the kitchen, clean and clothed in pajamas.

“Hi! C’mere, tell me about your day,” Danny called, gesturing to the chair beside him.

“I not like school,” Steve said, frowning. “I stay home with Danno.”

“Except that Danno has to go to work.”

Steve’s eyes glazed over briefly before he brightened. “Steve go work with Danno!”

“Oh, babe, I wish you could, but there’d be nothing for you to do there, and if we caught a case, there’d be no one to stay with you.” Danny kept his tone light, but inside it was killing him to explain, to have it be so real that Steve no longer belonged at HQ.

“I not like it,” Steve pouted, using a thumbnail to pick at the grain of the wood. “I not want Auntie.”

“Steve, we talked about this, alright? Someone has to be here when I’m not. I don’t like it either, but that’s the way it has to be. And hey, she seemed pretty cool to me! Are you just upset because she made you help with the laundry?”

There was no reply, and Danny nodded to himself; he’d had similar conversations with Grace. “It’s the first day, we’re all still feeling this thing out; give Auntie a chance, she might surprise you.”

“Ok, Danno,” Steve muttered. “I bedtime, you read to me?”

A quick check of the time confirmed that Steve was right. “Yup, you go get into bed and let me clean up here, I’ll be right in.”

Steve levered himself up from the chair and made his way back to his bedroom. Danny scrubbed at his face, suddenly feeling very tired. He just had to remind himself of what his therapist told him: every day would get a little easier, and a little easier. He just had to be patient.

~*~

As the new routine stretched out, Danny heard fewer and fewer complaints from Steve; in fact, he began babbling about all of the fun things Leilani was doing with him. Danny had sighed with relief; he really didn’t want to start all over if things didn’t work out.

He’d found his groove at work, sliding more easily into his role as leader. He had to eventually take on a new partner, which was hard at first, but with help from Kono and Chin they were able to make it work.

His weekend with Grace was coming up, and he was excited to have her there, both for himself and for Steve.

“You back now?” Steve asked when Danny walked through the door at three-thirty. He almost looked disappointed.

“When you’re the boss, you get to decide to leave early,” Danny replied, winking at Leilani. “Besides, Grace is coming over this weekend, remember? We’re picking her up from school.”

“I not, I play with Auntie.”

Danny stopped short at that, startled. Usually at the first mention of Grace, Steve got excited, going on and on about wanting to play with her.

“Auntie’s going home now,” Leilani supplied, her voice gentle. “That’s how it goes; when Danny comes home, Auntie leaves.”

Steve’s eyes flicked from one face to the other before his faced crumpled. “Auntie stay!”

“Steven,” Danny warned; this was not the time for a tantrum.

“No Danno, Auntie stay, play with Steve, and Danno go play with Gacie.”

Leilani continued to back towards the door, offering Danny a helpless shrug before taking her leave. Danny sighed, trying to figure out how best to diffuse the situation. He’d heard from Leilani already that Steve had jealousy towards Grace, because when she was over Danny tended to focus mostly on her. It wasn’t that he _ignored_ Steve, he just didn’t set Steve as the center of attention.

“Look, Steve, I told Grace I’d pick her up from school today, we have to get going. Auntie’s already gone, you have to come with me.”

“No!” Steve shouted, “I not! Gacie stay home, Danno play with Steve.”

“You can’t have everything your way, and being a brat doesn’t help,” Danny pointed out, already heading towards the door.

“I not brat,” Steve said, affronted.

“No? What do you call this behavior then? You certainly aren’t being a good boy.”

Something flickered in Steve’s face seconds before he burst into tears, leaving Danny scrambling to comfort him. He was shocked, Steve wasn’t usually this touchy.

“Did something happen at school today?” he asked, rocking them both from side to side and rubbing a hand up and down Steve’s back. “Was it not a good day?”

“Mmm, Danno, I not--” Steve began before cutting himself off, sniffling.

“C’mon, you can tell me in the car, alright? Let’s go.”

Defeated, Steve trudged out to the car, climbing up into the truck with Danny’s help and buckling himself in. They rode in silence to the school, Danny hopping out to collect Grace before giving her a hand up into the truck. She chattered excitedly about her week and her classes, occasionally asking Steve a question but moving on when he didn’t respond. Danny kept one eye on the road and the other on Steve’s dejected face, worry creeping up on him. Steve was upset about something and he wasn’t saying what it was. Maybe it was time Danny called the day program’s director for a report.

~*~

The director seemed baffled when Danny asked her about Steve being upset, and had him transferred to the office of the man who oversaw Steve’s group.

“Yes? This is Ben.”

“Hi, Ben, this is Detective Williams, you have Steve McGarrett in your morning program? I’m his guardian.”

“Oh yes, Steve’s great! He’s doing really well.”

“That’s great to hear,” Danny replied, glancing out into the living room; Grace was on the couch, absorbed in a cartoon, and Steve was pushing his boats around on the floor. “Listen, I was wondering if there were any confrontations or issues involving Steve this week?”

“Confrontations?”

“Yeah, maybe with one of the other people? He seemed really upset this afternoon, and he won’t tell me why. I just figured I’d see if there was anything going on.”

There was a pause, followed by a heavy sigh. “There are three instructors, including myself, overseeing the morning program. We’ve got between ten and fifteen individuals on any given day, and for the most part everyone gets along. We try to keep them occupied for the entire morning, but there are instances, say around snack time or break, that they socialize amongst themselves.”

“Right, and?” Danny pressed, a sour feeling brewing in his stomach.

“Not everyone in the program has the same needs; while we do have a few other developmentally challenged individuals, not everyone everyone is. There... is one gentleman, who is physically disabled, I’m not going to disclose his name. Anyway, he... might’ve said something to Steve out of turn.”

Danny frowned. “Out of turn? Like what?”

“Detective Williams, did you have an... intimate relationship with Steve prior to his accident?”

Shocked, Danny didn’t respond, just stood in the kitchen with his mouth hanging open. He mentally backtracked to the application and paperwork for Steve’s day program, and couldn’t remember a point where he would’ve freely given out that information. “I don’t see what that has to do with--”

“I don’t know what sort of memory Steve has of that time, probably not much, but regardless, this other person said something to Steve about it, said that the two of you were boyfriends.”

“Boyfriends.”

“Yes. Steve got upset over whatever else was said to him, and was quiet for the rest of the morning.”

“And you didn’t think it was necessary to call me about this?” Danny asked, struggling to keep his voice down. “To give me a heads up for when he got home?”

“I apologize, I wasn’t sure if it was my place.”

“Mmhm; thanks for your time.” Danny hung up, resisting the urge to throw something. He hadn’t gotten into any of that with Steve, wasn’t sure what Steve understood or remembered. The fact that some _stranger_ had said something was infuriating.

The fact that Danny had no idea how to broach the subject -- not to mention with Grace being there -- wasn’t helping.

“Daddy? I’m hungry, can we order pizza?” Grace asked, coming to stand in the doorway.

“Sure Monkey, you wanna dig out the menu and we’ll figure out what we want?”

Grace nodded and went to the menu drawer before following Danny out into the living room. He tugged Steve up onto the couch and together they ordered a few pizzas, settling in to watch a movie.

By eight-thirty Steve was beginning to droop; pausing the movie, Danny excused them both and hauled Steve up, guiding him to his bedroom. Together they got Steve into pajamas and in and out of the bathroom before tucking him in.

“Danno?”

“Yeah babe.”

“You mad me?”

“Am I mad at you? No, of course not, why would I be?” Danny asked, confused. If he was upset it was with the day program, not Steve.

“I not... did Steve and Danno be... boyfriends? Before?” Steve asked, tentative.

Not sure of how to respond, Danny didn’t say anything, just stared. This wasn’t a conversation he was ready to have, not at almost nine in the evening, and not with Grace just down the hall.

“It’s late, we can talk about it in the morning when you’re more awake, alright?” Danny suggested, drawing the blankets up to Steve’s shoulders and leaning down to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Sleep well.”

Shutting the door to Steve’s room, Danny took his time heading back to the living room. The therapists and doctors had said there was no way to know how much -- if anything -- Steve would remember from before the beating. Somewhere in Danny’s heart of hearts, he’d hoped that Steve would recover fully and they’d go back to their lives, enjoying each other. He’d learned to be grateful for what Steve did regain, even if it wasn’t everything. This, though, this asking about and delving into uncharted territory scared him. Steve as he was now was not mentally and emotionally capable of an adult relationship, and Danny knew that; how he could explain that in a way that wouldn’t hurt Steve was the challenge.

~*~

The weekend with Grace passed without incident, and without Steve bringing up the subject of boyfriends. Danny could feel it festering, though, knew it was there just waiting to come up. He’d hoped Steve would forget, but not too long after the other man let himself into Danny’s bedroom and hobbled over to the bed to sit.

“Danno.”

“You know you aren’t supposed to use the stairs on your own,” Danny scolded, trying to change the subject. “What if you tripped?”

Steve frowned, annoyed, and it was obvious he knew what Danny was doing. “Boyfriends,” he stated simply, making it clear that he would wait as long as it took for Danny to explain it to him.

Sighing, Danny closed the book he’d been reading and pinched the bridge of his nose; it was now or never.

“I’m not really sure how best to talk about this, so if it sounds weird, or you don’t understand, stop me. Ok, yes, you and I were boyfriends, Before. We lived together in this house, I’d moved in with you not to long before the-- well. It was only a little while before all this happened.”

Steve nodded, asking “did Danno kiss Steve?”

“Yes, we kissed. A lot, actually.”

“But no more?” and now Steve looked more sad than determined, like somehow it was his fault.

“Oh, babe... I still kiss you, just differently than before. You know how they do it on TV? That’s how it was, but... well, it just... you’re different, now, and it wouldn’t be right to kiss you like that.”

Tears were forming in Steve’s eyes, and Danny had the distinct feeling that he was royally fucking up. “Why not?”

He felt tears of his own, and he tried to answer the question, but couldn’t find the words to do it without hurting Steve’s feelings.

“I brat?” Steve asked. “I... I bad? I dumb? Why, Danno? Why not?”

They were both truly crying now, and Danny was pretty sure he couldn’t mess things up any more than he already had. “Because you’re like a child now! You have the mentality of a child and I would never, _could_ never take advantage of you like that! I love you and I miss what we had, but not at the expense of someone taking you away because our relationship was inappropriate.”

Eyes glazing over, Steve’s gaze drifted somewhere over Danny’s shoulder as he processed the statement, leaving Danny to sniffle in silence. Eventually Steve came out of it, tears streaming down his cheeks. “I baby.”

“No, you aren’t a baby, and you aren’t bad, or dumb, or bratty. You’re still Steve, you’re just a different Steve, and I love you no matter what. Do you understand that?”

Steve nodded, wiping at his nose with his sleeve. “Danno not do it? Ever?”

“I _can’t_ , I want to, but I can’t. It wouldn’t be fair to either of us.”

Steve seemed to accept the explanation, nodding to himself before levering himself up off the bed. Danny hopped up behind him, turning him around and pulling him into a hug.

“You’ve done nothing wrong, do you understand me? Nothing. None of this is your fault.”

“Yeah, Danno.”

They made their way down stairs, Danny going first to ensure Steve got down safely. It was late, Steve had school the following morning, so he made sure Steve was tucked in and settled before heading back upstairs. Miserable, he stared at the bed before flopping down face first and sighing heavily.

He wasn’t sure how much more of this he could take.


	5. Chapter 5

Steve was quiet, almost reserved, in the days following what Danny thought of as ‘The Encounter.’ Leilani would ask him about it, taking Danny’s short, not exactly forthcoming answers with a grain of salt. She promised to try and engage Steve in fun activities to bring him out of his funk.

Danny found that he himself was in a funk, and knew the best way for him to come out of it was to spend time with Grace. So, he arranged to pick her up from school the Friday before their next weekend together. They’d get shave ice, he’d listen to her talk about her week at school and the current middle school drama.

“Are you listening, Danno?”

“Huh? Sorry, Monkey, I was in lala land.” Danny visibly shook himself, angling his body so his full attention was on Grace. They were at Kamekona’s, the sun was warm on his back; another afternoon in paradise.

“I _said_ did you find out what was making Uncle Steve sad last time I stayed over. He didn’t ask me to play with him and he _always_ wants to play when I come over.” The expression on her face was one of concern beyond her years; Danny’s heart clenched a little.

“Well, baby, I did find out what was making Uncle Steve sad, but I’m afraid I’m not gonna be able to fix it.” It was a candid statement; normally Danny wouldn’t express being nervous about anything in front of Grace, but since everything that had happened, she’d shown that she was wise beyond her years.

Grace frowned. “Why not? Maybe I can help.”

“Maybe... Steve’s remembering... certain things about his life Before. Not all of those things are good, unfortunately; he did a lot of not-so-nice, violent stuff as a SEAL, so there’s some of that coming through.”

“Does he remember any good stuff at all?” Grace asked, eyes sad.

“Um, sorta. But the good stuff makes him just as sad as the bad stuff, because he can’t get a lot of it back.”

Grace nodded to herself, taking a moment to think that over. She chewed at her lip, and Danny marveled at how much she resembled her mother.

“He’s sad because you and him can’t be in love like you were before, huh, Danno?”

Flummoxed, Danny gaped at her, sputtering before nodding. Wow, his kid was insightful; he was suddenly wondering whether it was worth it to keep things from her, or “dumb” things down to kid level.

“Wow... I love Uncle Steve, Grace, and I probably always will, but like I told him: the _way_ I love him has changed. He’s like a child now, and there are certain... aspects... that aren’t appropriate anymore. I explained that to him as best I could, and I _think_ he gets it, to a point; I do know he remembers a bit of what our relationship was like Before, and he knows its different now.”

“Is he mad at you, Daddy?”

“No, I don’t think he’s mad at me, or even at himself. I think he’s just sad about the whole thing.”

Grace frowned for a moment before grinning at him. “Then we need to try and make him feel better.”

~*~

It was barely four in the morning on Saturday when Danny’s phone rang, the sound shrill in the quiet house. He scrambled to reach for it, almost knocking it off the nightstand and rolling himself out of the bed.

“Hello?” he rasped, ready to be furious.

“Detective Williams? This is Governor Denning.”

Danny mentally kicked himself. “Yes, Governor, good morning.”

“I’m not sure how good it is, Detective.”

The governor went on at length about some violent murder-suicide, and how someone high-profile was involved, and thus why he was calling at such an ungodly hour. Danny got the address of the crime scene and hung up so he could call Kono and Chin. They both grumbled in turn, and Danny was left to wonder what he was going to do about Steve and Grace. Muttering to himself, he dialed out to Leilani.

After apologizing profusely for waking her and her husband, he begged and pleaded with her to come over. He could hear her sigh heavily but agree, asking for twenty minutes to get ready before heading over. Danny thanked her, hung up, and tumbled out of the bed; his legs were tangled in the sheets. Struggling to keep his epithets to himself, he tugged on some clothes, grabbed his gun and badge, and made his way down the hall to Grace’s bedroom.

“Monkey? Danno got called into work, I have to go; Auntie Leilani is coming over, she’ll be here soon.”

Grace blinked owlishly at him for a moment before sitting up. “When will you be back?”

“Not sure, hopefully soon. I have to go let Steve know, go back to sleep.”

“Ok, Daddy. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

Danny made his way down the stairs as quietly as he could, pulled on his shoes, and ducked his head into Steve’s room. The hall light reflected in Steve’s open eyes, startling Danny a bit.

“Babe, you awake?”

“Danno loud.”

“Oh... sorry, I thought I was being quiet. Hey, listen, I have to go work, it’s an emergency. Auntie Leilani is coming over, she’ll be here soon, and Grace will be here also. Ok?”

Steve huffed, struggling to sit up and cracking a yawn. “Yeah, Danno,” he sighed, leaning into the kiss on the forehead Danny left him with.

“Go back to sleep, I’ll see you later.”

Steve didn’t lay back down, instead remained sitting and watched Danny leave the room, dazed.

~*~

Leilani arrived to find Grace tucked into bed with Steve, a book between them. Her voice was soft as she read, and Steve didn’t even seem to be awake.

“Grace,” Leilani whispered, beckoning. Grace glanced up, nodded, and slowly extracted herself from the bed, tiptoeing to the door.

Together they walked out to the living room. “Uncle Steve has been sad, and I know he was extra sad about Danno having to work, so I went to read to him for a little while, until he went back to sleep.”

“That was sweet of you, Grace. I’m Auntie Leilani, by the way; I don’t think we’ve met, though your dad talks a lot about you.”

“Nice to meet you,” Grace replied, glancing over her shoulder at Steve’s room. “Can I stay with Uncle Steve until it’s a better time to get up? I don’t think he wants to be alone.”

Leilani smiled. “Of course. Your dad said he didn’t mind if I napped in his room for a bit, since this is very early for me, too. I’ll be right upstairs if either of you need anything.”

Grace watched Leilani head upstairs before letting herself back into Steve’s room. Steve had rolled away from the middle of the bed, leaving the book sprawled in the middle. Climbing in, she carefully saved the page and put the book aside, tucking her feet beneath the blankets and getting comfortable. Almost as if he sensed her presence, Steve scooted towards her, snuffling around the thumb stuffed in his mouth. He made a questioning noise, eyes firmly shut, and Grace shushed him, petting him gently on the head.

She didn’t go back to sleep until Steve was comfortably settled.

~*~

Leilani was loathe to wake them, but as it was going on nine-thirty and it wouldnt do for Danny to find out they’d been in bed all day, she quietly made her way downstairs. She was shocked to find both Grace and Steve dressed and watching cartoons in the living room.

“My goodness, you two are quiet as church mice! I didn’t even hear you getting ready.”

Grace offered to help make breakfast, and the three of them made quick work of the meal and clean-up afterwards.

“So, I have a suggestion for an activity for today,” Leilani began once they were back in the living room. “There’s a sort of street fair happening in town, there’s a farmers market and all sorts of treats and vendors... I was thinking we could take a ride over and pick out a few fresh things to make for dinner. What do we think?”

Steve and Grace glanced at each other. “That sounds fun; could we get something for dessert, too?” Grace asked. “Danno deserves something sweet for when he gets home.”

“Danno sweet,” Steve added solemnly, his eyes big and round.

“I’m sure he’d love that; alright you two, shoes on and into the car!”

There was a little rushing around as Grace assisted in getting Steve into his brace and shoes and then into Leilani’s car, and some arguing over what to have for dinner. Leilani threatened them with no dessert and the dispute was quickly settled.

Once parked around the corner from the fair, Leilani stood Grace and Steve beside the car and gave them a serious look. “Now, I don’t mind if you two don’t want to walk around with me, but you need to stay within my sights. Ask me if you want to go look at something before you wander off, hear?”

They nodded and Leilani escorted everyone to the market, which was bustling and full of people. Steve goggled at the crowd, trying to stare at everything at once as Grace and Leilani steered him towards the fruit and vegetable stands. Promising to hold hands, Grace and Steve made their way up and down the aisle, appraising Leilani’s choices as they went.

As they made their way towards a man selling herbs, Steve noticed a stand a few aisles over. It was brightly decorated, and the elderly man running it was carving something delicate from a small piece of wood. Already there were stacks of animals, flowers, and people on the table, some painted, some not. One in particular caught Steve’s eye.

“Elle-phunt,” he muttered to himself, beginning to move in that direction. Grace still had a firm grip on his hand, and felt herself being pulled. She turned to ask Steve where he was going, but got jostled by a few kids before she had a chance, causing her to drop Steve’s hand.

No longer weighed down, Steve wove his way through the crowd, crossing the aisles until he came to the man doing the carvings. He watched, wide-eyed, as the man brought a small monkey to life from a block of wood. Fascinated, he watched the man use his knife to remove tiny, curled slivers from the wood, forming the monkey’s tail, feet, ears.

Grace had managed to push her way through the crowd after Steve, though somewhat worse for the wear. “Uncle Steve! Auntie said we have to ask her before we wander off,” she scolded, sounding far too much like her father. “Come on, she’ll freak out if she can’t find us.”

“Gacie, elle-phunt,” Steve told her, pointing to the elaborately carved piece. “For Danno.”

Taking a look, Grace saw that the carving was the same shade of gray-blue as the stuffed animal at home. “Oh, you wanna give him one like he gave you? Let’s go ask Leilani for some money, then.”

She reached out to take his hand, and Steve went to do the same, almost in slow motion. He watched, eyes huge, as a large man appeared out of nowhere and wrapped an arm around Grace’s middle, easily hoisting her into the air. Her face went from calm to shock and then horror as she stretched both arms out to Steve.

“Uncle Steve!” she shrieked, just before the man clamped a hand over her mouth. Before Steve could move, the man was disappearing into the crowd. Something vicious and hot twisted in Steve’s gut as he watched her fade into the crowd, and felt something burst into his consciousness.

_Track. Follow. Find. Bring back._

Gritting his teeth, Steve lumbered into the crowd, suddenly furious. No one had the right to take away and hurt the people he loved.

He barely heard Leilani frantically calling his name, didn’t register that she’d seen someone snatch Grace.

His mission was to find her.

~*~

“Detective Williams,” Danny sighed into his phone. The murder-suicide turned out to be pretty cut and dried; the team had already started the paperwork.

“Danny! Someone’s taken Grace!” Leilani shouted, hysterical.

Danny froze, his blood turning to ice in his veins. He couldn’t have heard that right... “Say again?”

“Grace! I took them to the street fair and _someone took Grace._ ”

“What? Where’s Steve? Was he with her?”

“It looked like he was following them; oh Danny, I’m so sorry--”

Danny was already up and out in the bullpen, signaling Chin and Kono to him. “Nevermind sorry; where is the street fair happening?”

Leilani rattled off the streets participating, which covered several blocks. Chin and Kono both hovered over the surface table, one mapping the location and the other trying to find the signal for Grace’s cell phone.

“Should I keep looking for them?” Leilani asked.

“No; you stay where you are. I’m gonna have some uniforms go down there to help out.” He hung up, shoulders slumping.

“We’ll find them,” Kono said, tone firm. “I’m honing in on Grace’s cell.”

“I know we will; I’m just hoping they don’t get hurt. I don’t know what Steve remembers; he knows he was a SEAL, he knows about the training.”

“D’you think he’d try to do anything?” Chin offered, frowning. “Because I can’t see that going well.”

“Let’s hope not,” Danny sighed. “Kono, you stay here and keep tabs on the signal, Chin and I will go down there and see if we can find them.”

“You got it, boss.”

~*~

The man who’d grabbed Grace was large, but not imposing. The other men he was with weren’t either. Grace glared up at them, keeping her mouth firmly shut. The men were low-level thugs, who realized that trying to rob a nine year old kid was pointless, let alone grabbing her.

“So what do we do with her then?” one asked.

“We could sell her to one of those black market things,” another replied.

“Right, except we don’t have an in with those rackets,” said a third.

“Ransom?” offered the first.

“That works,” agreed the third.

“Let’s see what we can get,” growled the second. All three turned to Grace, who felt her glare slipping. She was in the backroom of a laundromat, off an alley; she’d done her best to keep an eye out for landmarks of any kind, in the event she could get her hands on her phone to call her father. The thugs had of course taken her phone and tossed it a few streets over, but that was besides the point.

Even if Danny couldn’t get to her, Steve had followed them easily, surprisingly so. He’d hid behind a dumpster when the guy who’d snatched Grace shouldered his way into the hideout, and was now hovering just outside the door.

His muscles were thrumming; someone, some _other_ in his brain was whispering about all the things he could do to incapacitate the men inside, before they could hurt Grace. Steve knew this was Big Steve, the man he was Before, struggling to help him. He was afraid of Big Steve, afraid of his knowledge and the things he’d seen. He knew, though, that those tools were what was going to help him rescue Grace.

_Track. Follow. Find. Bring back._

He’d done the first three, now he had to take the guys out of the equation so he could do the last thing. Taking a deep breath, Steve slowly opened the door.

~*~

Danny and Chin checked in Leilani and the uniforms that were waiting with her. Leaving one with Leilani, Danny sent the others off to cover the other streets that were participating in the fair, and he and Chin headed in the direction of Grace’s cell phone, Kono guiding them over their intercoms.

“Uniforms have reached the ends of the streets, they’re doubling back,” Chin said as they hurried along, ducking in and out of alleys.

“I hope that means we’re close to them,” Danny huffed, half listening to Kono. She told them to stop, then take a left.

“The tracker Steve had put in her phone is still putting out a signal; whoever grabbed her obviously didn’t know enough to disarm it. You guys are practically on top of it,” she said, voice tinny over the wire. Danny and Chin each took a side of the alley, slowly combing through the area until Chin made an “aha!” sound.

“Got the phone; they dumped it.”

“Of course they did,” Danny groaned, throwing his hands up. “And Steve doesn’t have a cell phone.”

“What about that watch?” Chin asked, thoughtful. “Remember that gigantic watch he always wore? I think I remember him saying something about putting a tracker in there, since no one would think to ditch his watch.”

Blinking, Danny tried to think. “Nah, no, it wasn’t with his things when I went to the hospital, it probably got smashed when he got attacked, Regardless, he hasn’t been wearing a watch.”

“Um, guys? I think you’re close,” Kono called. Both men could hear the light thump of her fingers as they flew over the surface table. “HPD had done a raid in the area a few months ago, a handful of businesses being used as fronts for drug trafficking. Some of the businesses closed, but the others are under new management, and so far as I can see, none of those new owners applied for permits to do any demo on the insides of the buildings.”

“So you’re saying they might still have the set-ups used by the drug traffickers,” Chin mumured. “Back rooms, secret storage areas, entrances and exits hidden from public view.”

“Sending the addresses to your phones now,” Kono added.

Within seconds the men were off and running.

~*~

Big Steve had whispered about removing his brace and shoes, so Steve did, realizing that the lack of his brace meant he wasn’t loudly clumping along. Not that it would’ve mattered, of course; the three thugs were arguing loudly about who they were going to ransom, since they’d tossed Grace’s phone and she wasn’t talking. The space was predominantly concrete, and their voices echoed. The sound of Steve opening and closing the door was drowned out, and now that he was barefoot, he more or less whispered across the floor.

Upon entering, Steve made his way down a short corridor; it was dimly lit, he could make out the shadows of the three men, and a Grace-shaped shadow tied to a chair. Nervousness fluttered in his belly; now that the moment was upon him, he was awash in doubt. Big Steve would’ve instinctively known what to do and how to do it, would’ve been fearless -- the Steve creeping around the corner was terrified.

He froze; one of the men was yelling at Grace, demanding that he give her a number to call, or else. After not saying anything, there was the sound of flesh hitting flesh, followed by a gasp and sniffles. Rage rekindled in Steve’s belly, because the men had escalated to striking Grace, and one of them had just slapped her across the face.

_Take them down,_ Big Steve whispered. _They have no right to touch her._

Gritting his teeth, Steve took a deep breath and stepped around the corner.

Later, Grace would tell Danny that it was only a few seconds, but for Steve in the moment it seemed endless. The men hadn’t noticed Steve right away, but Grace had. She’d shaken her head at him, eyes huge. He’d ignored her for the time being, balling his hands into fists. One of the men turned, eyes wide with surprise. He opened his mouth to say something, but Steve didn’t give him a chance.

He moved like water, flowing into the man’s space and directing a rigid karate chop at the man’s throat, keeping him from speaking. It disarmed the man, allowing Steve to step around and kick out the man’s knee. Dropping to the ground, Steve barked out to Grace “close your eyes!” seconds before neatly snapping the man’s neck. His body hit the ground with a thud, causing the other two to spring into action.

Neither had guns, thankfully, though one did have a knife. Barely casting it a glance, Steve managed to dislocate the shoulder of the unarmed man, using his weight to slam the man into the wall, knocking him unconscious.

“The fuck are you?” the third man shouted, knife trembling in his hands.

Steve growled in response, keeping his hands up. Grace still had her eyes closed, hadn’t seen any of the carnage; good, that was good. He needed to focus on disarming this last idiot, couldn’t worry about her seeing something she shouldn’t.

The man lunged with the knife; Steve jigged to the side, the knife just barely glancing off his elbow. Grinding his teeth, he slipped in on the side, bringing an elbow up and smashing it into the side of the man’s face. Startled, the man dropped the knife. Not wasting any time, Steve threw himself against the man’s side, knocking him down. The knife was just there, and they grappled for it, Steve working hard to keep the man pinned so he couldn’t get his hands on it.

Not wanting to give the guy the chance, Steve set his jaw and laid his forearm over the man’s windpipe, putting as much weight as he could on it. The man’s eyes bulged, hands scrabbling at Steve’s arm.

“No,” Steve declared, nose-to-nose with the thug. “No. Bad, bad man.”

The man gasped once, twice, before his hands fell to the floor. Steve wasn’t sure if he was dead, didn’t want to find out. He took up the knife and used it to carefully cut Grace’s bonds, using his strong right arm to hoist her up onto his hip. She kept her eyes closed, clung to him tightly as he made his way back to the door.

~*~

“She isn’t here,” Danny growled in frustration, slamming the door behind him. They’d gone through a convenience store and found nothing, which matched the sushi restaurant and the dry cleaners before it.

“There’s still one more,” Chin called, working his way back into the alley. “There’s an entrance-- holy shit, Danny!”

Danny ran to where Chin stood, heart pounding. Steve’s brace and shoes were outside a side door. Glancing at each other, they drew their weapons. Chin made to grab the door handle when it wiggled on it’s own. He and Danny stepped back, guns aimed at the door, waiting.

It felt like moving through syrup, watching Steve shoulder his way out the door, Grace in his arms. He barely managed to thumb the safety back on before dropping his gun and rushing to them, arms wrapped tight around them both. Chin ducked into the building, doing a quick sweep and gaping at the mess inside.

“There’s three of them, they’re all down. One dead, two unconscious,” he said with awe, staring at Steve.

“That’s... oh my God, Steve, did you--” Danny started, interrupted when HPD arrived. Kono was still linked up, had heard them, and sent the uniforms over.

Steve just looked at him, his eyes strange. Danny didn’t have time to worry about the how at the moment; he needed to get Grace and Steve looked over, he’d worry about the rest later.

~*~

As Grace had closed her eyes once Steve told her to, the only person who knew exactly what happened was Steve, as the two remaining thugs weren’t talking. Steve didn’t seem to have much to say either, just blinking at Danny any time he tried to pry.

“He was amazing, Danno,” Grace said sleepily. They had been released from the hospital, were finally back home and tucked into Danny’s bed, Danny in the middle and Steve and Grace on either side. “He wasn’t scared at all. It was like... it was like from Before.”

Danny glanced over at the man in question; Steve was sound asleep, thumb tucked between his lips, elephant clutched to his chest. He was snoring, tucked against Danny’s side.

“I’m glad to hear that, Monkey. I really, really am.”

Steve shifted against him, and Danny ducked down to kiss him on the forehead. “Thank you,” he whispered, emotion swelling in his chest. “Steve, thank you.”

“Welcome,” Steve murmured sleepily, voice different for a moment. “Any time, Danno; always.”

Danny didn’t reply, understood inherently that this was Big Steve, _his_ Steve, speaking to him. It was only for a second, but those few words provided a reassurance Danny hadn’t known he’d needed. Steve might be different, changed, but he was still Steve. Deep down inside, he was still that same person. For Danny, that knowledge was enough to tell him that they were going to survive this, and everything was going to be ok. There were still things they needed to figure out, but that was alright.

They were going to make it.

 

-FIN-

**Author's Note:**

> The meat of this story has been buzzing around in my brain for a very long time. I wasn't sure if I should write it because I didn't know how people would react... then I decided it wasn't about them. So, here it is.
> 
> A good portion of the information regarding Steve's rehab comes from personal observation and experience, and the rest comes from Google and Wikipedia. I'm not a neuro doctor, nor am I a physical or occupational therapist. The results of Steve's injuries are made up; artistic license FTW. 
> 
> I hope no one thinks I'm crazy...

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Dandelions Lost in the Summer Sky](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7612336) by [lcdrsuperseal](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lcdrsuperseal/pseuds/lcdrsuperseal)




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